New research has found that about 60 percent of packaged baby food sold in the US fails to meet nutritional standards established by the World Health Organization (WHO), underscoring growing concerns about the impact of inadequate diet on children’s health.
Researchers from the George Institute for Global Health, a medical research centre in Australia, assessed 651 commercial infant and toddler food products purchased from major US grocery chains between March and May 2023. Their work revealed a staggering 70 percent of products failed to meet protein requirements, 44 percent exceeded total sugar requirements, 25 percent did not meet calorie requirements and 20 percent exceeded recommended sodium limits.
The paper, published in the scientific journal Nutrients, analysed products based on the 2022 nutritional and promotional standards outlined by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, as there are no US-specific nutrition or promotional guidelines for these foods.
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The nutritional deficiencies highlighted in the study, along with the increased prevalence of ultra-processed foods (those made largely or entirely without whole foods), underscore a growing concern for US children. Good nutrition is key to healthy development and the foods we eat in childhood form our dietary preferences for life.
Research fellow and dietician at the George Institute, Dr Daisy Coyle, also expressed concerns about the misleading packaging often used to sell these products. Nearly all (99.4 percent) of products analysed in the study featured at least one unfounded health claim on their packaging – some included as many as 11. “The lack of regulation in this area leaves the door wide open for the food industry to deceive busy parents,” she said.
Carolyn Kusenda, manager of the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center Paediatric Clinical Nutrition Center, firmly agreed. “We need greater oversight over the production, marketing and distribution of these types of foods in the United States.” It’s not parents making bad choices, she said. “It’s the products themselves.”
