The British doctors are concerned about the high sugar infant and toddler food pouches that are creating health issues in children. They want the government to crack down on sales of these unhealthy products.
High sugar infant and toddler good pouches: It’s a national disgrace
Child specialists and other doctors in the UK are upset with the food products sold for children in the UK. They are particularly worried about the high sugar infant and toddler food pouches that are on sale for these younger kids. The The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) stated:
“Disingenuous marketing strategies are being used on parents buying supermarket products for their children.”
High sugar infant and toddler food pouches (Source: Daily Mail UK)The government has no proper national nutritional guidelines for infant products. The doctors feel that it’s a matter of national disgrace. It was way back in 2016 that the government had asked all food manufacturers to cut down the sugar content of packaged products by 20% by the year 2020. But what is noteworthy that the government did not mention infant and toddler food products in this list.
Demand for regulations
The RCPCH want the government to intervene and make proper guidelines for these food products for young children. The British Dental Association (BDA) did a research and found that baby pouches for those less than 12 months of age had more sugar concentration than that found in Coca-Cola. RCPCH president Dr Camilla Kingdon said:
“It’s a national disgrace that there is currently zero guidance on the salt and sugar levels in products aimed at infants, who are in a critical stage of their development.”
High sugar infant and toddler food pouches (Source: Metro UK)They seek that the government lay down norms for salt and sugar for infant food. Camilla informed that manufacturers use dirty marketing tricks to up their sales. They use words such as ‘all organic’ or ‘nutritionally approved’ to lure parents to buy them. Camilla added:
“At best this is disingenuous, at worst dangerous,”
She feels that one cannot expect the food industry to make healthy foods without regulations. Camilla asserted:
“Nutritional education, alongside Government leadership and regulations, are desperately needed,”
“The future wellbeing of our children is too important.”
Problems of no regulations
These infant and toddler food packets are unhealthy and result in health problems in children. 1 in 3 children in the UK are overweight or obese when they exit primary school. In fact, lesser privileged children have two times more chances of being obese compared to the lesser deprived kids. And obesity is causing early asthma, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes at a young age.
High sugar infant and toddler food pouches (Source: Epicurious)Read here: 4 food types that can negatively affect dental and oral health!
Further, BDA chairman Eddie Crouch revealed:
“The Government can’t keep kicking this can down the road.”
“Tooth decay is the number one reason for hospital admissions among young children. Yet ministers are letting parents be duped into buying foods that can hook their kids to sugar from infancy.”
“Without action here the food industry will continue touting products more sugary than cola as healthy options.”