Scottish parents are being urged to expose their young children to a wide range of vegetables amid concerns too many are filling up on sugary fruit products. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said tougher, mandatory regulations were needed regarding the amount of “free sugar” that can be included in baby and toddler foods.
Free sugar can refer to both sugar which is added to foods and beverages by manufacturers and to sugar naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices.
RCPCH experts said there is too much emphasis on sweet foods in pouches and jars, while parents also tend to puree fruits as a first food for their babies during home cooking. This leads to children consuming far too much sugar, including from fruit puree and liquid fruit, at the expense of becoming familiar with more sour-tasting vegetables.
The RCPCH said consuming too many foods high in free sugars risks babies developing a sweet tooth early on which can lead to tooth decay, poor diet and becoming overweight.
Professor Mary Fewtrell, the RCPCH’s nutrition lead, said: “Part of the problem is that baby weaning products often contain a high proportion of fruit or sweeter-tasting vegetables – and parents also often use fruit or sweet-tasting vegetables as first foods at home.
Source: scotsman.com
