Excerpt from Dr. Feder's, Natural Baby and Childcare

Although we are inundated with negative information about fats, they are essential to your child's good health. They give your child energy and serve a crucial role in infant and childhood development. The fat in breast milk, for instance, aids your child's developing nervous system and brain function. Fats also cover and protect vital organs, provide insulation to keep your child warm, help the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, K), and are involved with hormonal production. The benefits of fats do not go away as we age, nor do all bodies store fat in the same way. Women generally have a higher body fat percentage than men precisely because fat is so important during the childbearing years.