A study reveals that children's bad eating habits are starting as early as six months.

A new study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, published by Elsevier, found that nearly two-thirds of infants (61%) and almost all toddlers (98%) consumed added sugars in their average daily diets, primarily in the form of flavoured yogurts (infants) and fruit drinks (toddlers). Infants were 6-11 months, and toddlers were 12-23 months.

The analysis documented some good news in the decline over the study period (2005-6 and 2015-16) in the percentage of infants and toddlers whose daily diets include added sugars, as well as the amounts they consumed. Yet the widespread intake points to a serious and persistent problem: the early development of eating patterns associated with negative health conditions.

'Our study, which is the first to look at trends in added sugars consumption by infants and toddlers, documents that most infants and toddlers consume added sugars. This has important public health implications since previous research has shown that eating patterns established early in life shape later eating patterns,' explained lead investigator Kirsten A. Herrick, PhD, MSc, Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, MD, USA. She cited an earlier study that found that 6-year-olds who had consumed any sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) before the age of one were more than twice as likely to consume an SSB at least once a day compared to 6-year-olds who had not consumed any before the age of one.

Dr. Herrick noted: 'Previous research into the diets of children over two years old associated sugar consumption with the development of cavities, asthma, obesity, elevated blood pressure and altered lipid profiles.'

Health organisations in the US promulgate guidelines that recommend limiting sugar intake to 9 tsp or less for adult men, and 6 tsp or less for adult women and children between 2 and 19. With no comparable research available for infants and toddlers prior to this study, only one organisation, the American Heart Association, provided any guidance for children under age 2. 'Our study's findings about infant and toddler diets should raise awareness among health organisations and practitioners and inform future guidelines and recommendations,' she added.

According to Dr. Herrick, parents should be mindful of added sugars levels in the foods chosen when weaning their infants. 'The transition from a milk-based diet (breast milk and formula) to table foods has an impact on nutrition, taste preference, and eating patterns. More work is needed to understand this critical period.'

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