Is Fat Intake a Risk Factor for Fat Gain in Children?

The prevalence of obesity in children and adults is increasing worldwide. This demonstrates that the primary cause of obesity lies in environmental and behavioral changes rather than in genetic modifications. Among the environmental influences on body weight regulation, the percentage of fat energy of the everyday diet plays an important role. In many low-income countries, the percentage of fat energy in the everyday diet increases in people who reach a higher socioeconomic level, and this is accompanied by an increased prevalence of overweight and obesity. The passive over-consumption of energy-dense, high-fat diets combined with the decline in physical activity are the two main factors that account for the rising prevalence of obesity. The latter probably explains why several epidemiological studies report a trend of a decreased fat consumption in United States, while obesity prevalence is rising (1). The well-documented fact of dietary underreporting by obese people (2), however, is to be taken into account when assessing the results of such epidemiological studies, because worldwide the prevalence of overweight and obesity is significantly related to the percentage of fat energy in the diet (3).