Doctors urge Government to target high-sugar baby food

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said ‘disingenuous’ marketing strategies are being used on parents.

(Philip Toscano/PA) (PA Archive)

Doctors are calling on the Government to crack down on high-sugar baby and toddler food pouches, branding the lack of nutritional guidance for infant products a “national disgrace”.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said “disingenuous” marketing strategies are being used on parents buying supermarket products for their children.

In 2016, the Government challenged the food industry to reduce the overall sugar content of certain food categories by 20% by 2020, but did not include baby and toddler products.

The RCPCH is calling for mandatory guidelines on salt and sugar for infant food after research by the British Dental Association (BDA) found that many baby pouches, aimed at children under 12 months, contain more sugar by volume than Coca-Cola.

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

Dr Camilla Kingdon

RCPCH president Dr Camilla Kingdon said marketing strategies, such as labelling products “all organic” or “nutritionally approved”, can make parents believe they are giving their children healthy food.

“At best this is disingenuous, at worst dangerous,” she 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.

“All paediatricians know that good nutrition is the foundation of good health and wellbeing, and that this foundation starts being built from infancy.

“Families also know this and want the best for their children, but the task of providing a healthy and balanced diet is not always an easy one – especially these days with the price of food sky high.”

Dr Kingdon said the food industry cannot be relied on to provide infants with good nutrition without regulation.

“Nutritional education, alongside Government leadership and regulations, are desperately needed,” she said. “The future wellbeing of our children is too important.”

The RCPCH said one in three children is overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school, with youngsters living in the most deprived areas twice as likely to be obese than those in the least deprived areas.

The increase in obesity is leading to more cases of type 2 diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure in children.

BDA chairman Eddie Crouch said: “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.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “As our review in 2019 found inconsistencies between national recommendations and the ingredients and nutritional content of these products, we have challenged businesses to improve the nutritional content of these products.”