A nursing mother's body fat content directly affects the amount of fat in the milk she provides for her infant, according to UC Davis nutritionists. In a recent study of the first five months of lactation, researchers compared the amount of fat in human breast milk with the mother's body fat and the amount of fat she consumed in her diet. They found a strong correlation between the woman's percentage of body fat and the fat content of her milk. In essence, fatter moms produced fattier milk. The amount of dietary fat the mother consumed seemed to affect that fat content of breast milk only among lean women. "We think that is because fatter women can use their reserves of body fat to supply fat for milk and are not as dependent on dietary sources," says Kathryn Dewey, nutrition professor. "Breast milk with a higher fat content enables infants to gain more weight with a lower volume of intake; however, most babies can adjust to lower-fat milk as long as they are allowed to nurse on demand."