UK toddlers are at risk of obesity in later life because of their poor diet, research out today warns.
A study by University College London, UK, reveals that children aged 21 months were consuming 1,035 calories a day, compared with the recommended daily amount of 968.
And their diet lacked fibre, vitamin D and iron, they found.
However, the amount of sodium they ate was far more than the daily recommended amount.
Researchers found that toddlers ate an average of 40g of protein a day, when just 15g is recommended for youngsters aged one to three years.
Sodium intake was almost three times higher than the 0.5g recommended, while fibre intake among many young children was just 8g, half the recommended daily amount.
Almost 70% of children failed to eat the recommended 6.9 micrograms of iron and at 2.3 micrograms a day for vitamin D, the toddlers consumed less than half what the Department for Health recommends.
Lead author Hayley Syrad, of UCL’s Epidemiology and Health department, described the findings, published today in the British Journal of Nutrition, as “cause for concern”.
“We know that dietary preferences and habits are established during the first two years of life and that what we eat in early life can have an enduring impact on our health,” she said.
“Studies have identified increased protein in early life as a risk factor for obesity and high intakes of sodium are worrying because they may set taste preferences for the future, increasing the risk of raised blood pressure in later life.”
Syrad and her team used data from the Gemini twin birth cohort, examining information about 2,236 children in 2008/9.
“Vitamin supplements were only taken by a small proportion of children and whilst intakes of vitamin D and iron were increased through supplements, only 7% of children were consuming enough vitamin D,” continued Syrad.
“Given the associations between inadequate vitamin D and poor health, this underlines the importance of the current government recommendations that all children aged six months to five years should take a daily supplement containing vitamin D.
“Parents need more guidance on the appropriate type amount and variety of foods and beverages, together with appropriate micronutrient supplementation in order to reduce obesity and other health problems that may affect their children.”
Commenting on the study, Professor Neena Modi, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “There is no silver bullet when it comes to tackling obesity, but what is known is that the healthier start children have, the more likely they are to continue on that trajectory through their life. Therefore obesity must be tackled using a life-course approach.”
British Journal of Nutrition 6 April 2016
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