Question from Auckland, New Zealand:

My nearly seven year old daughter, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 10 months ago and in good contol (hemoglobin A1c: 6.9% since diagnosis), has always been a very thin child, but is above average in height, and within the lower 3% for her weight compared to her age. When she was diagnosed, she was advised by the hospital to stick to a low-fat diet. We have been very scrupulous about keeping to it (trying to ensure that she eats food with less than 5% fat most of the time), but I worry about her not having enough fat to grow well. She is 124 centimeters ( 49 inches) tall and weighs 19 kilograms (about 42 pounds). She has gained 3 kilograms (7 pounds since diagnosis last year, but has had no weight gain in the last four months. She looks very thin, complains about stomach pains in the mornings, and has had runny stools since diagnosis. Are we being too vigilant about keeping fat-free? Do you think that this diet might be contributing to her morning stomach pain, or her runny stool?.