A comparative study of the sodium content and calories from sugar in toddler foods sold in low- and high-income New York City supermarkets

The Nutritional Profile and On-Pack Marketing of Toddler-Specific Food Products Launched in Australia between 1996 and 2020

With the food system evolving, it is not clear how the nutrition and on-pack claims of toddler foods have been impacted. Data on the trends in Australia are lacking, so we sought to determine the changes in the nutrition and on-pack claims of toddler-specific packaged foods over time. A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was conducted using the Mintel Global New Products Database. The number of toddler-specific foods increased from 1996 to 2020. Over time, a lower proportion of meals and snacks were classified as “ultra-processed”, but a higher proportion of snacks were classified as “discretionary”. Meals launched after 2014 had higher median values for energy, saturated fat, and sugar than those in earlier years. Toddler snacks launched after 2014 had lower median values for sodium, and higher median values for fat, saturated fat, and sugar than those in earlier years. The mean number of total claims per package increased over time for snacks, with an increase in unregulated claims for both meals and snacks. Public health action is needed to ensure that the retail food environment for young children is health-promoting, including stringent and clear regulations for on-pack claims, and compositional guidelines and guidance on how to reduce the number of ultra-processed foods for toddlers.

Sodium, sugar, and fat content of complementary infant and toddler foods sold in the United States, 2015

Background: As part of a healthy diet, limiting intakes of excess sodium, added sugars, saturated fat, and trans fat has been recommended. The American Heart Association recommends that children aged <2 y should avoid added sugars.Objective: We sought to determine commercial complementary infant-toddler food categories that were of potential concern because of the sodium, added sugar, saturated fat, or trans fat content.Design: Nutrition label information (e.g., serving size, sodium, saturated fat, trans fat) for 1032 infant and toddler foods was collected from manufacturers' websites and stores from May to July 2015 for 24 brands, which accounted for >95% of infant-toddler food sales. The presence of added sugars was determined from the ingredient list. Reference amount customarily consumed (RACC) categories were used to group foods and standardize serving sizes. A high sodium content was evaluated on the basis of the Upper Intake Level for children aged 1-3 y and the number of potential servings per day ([i.e., 1500 mg/7 servings (>210 mg/RACC)], a sodium amount >200 mg/100 g, or a mean sodium density >1000 mg/1000 kcal.Results: In 2015, most commercial infant-only vegetables, fruit, dinners, and cereals were low in sodium, contained no saturated fat, and did not contain added sugars. On average, toddler meals contained 2233 mg Na/1000 kcal, and 84% of the meals had >210 mg Na/RACC (170 g), whereas 69% of infant-toddler savory snacks had >200 mg Na/100 g. More than 70% of toddler meals, cereal bars and breakfast pastries, and infant-toddler grain- or dairy-based desserts contained ≥1 sources of added sugar. Approximately 70% of toddler meals contained saturated fat (mean: 1.9 g/RACC), and no commercial infant-toddler foods contained trans fats.Conclusion: Most commercial toddler meals, cereal bars and breakfast pastries, and infant-toddler snacks and desserts have high sodium contents or contain added sugars, suggesting a need for continued public health efforts to support parents in choosing complementary foods for their infants and toddlers.

[Measurement of dietary sodium intake in a group of children from one to 18 months of age in a pediatric service in Cali, Colombia]

INTRODUCTION

The fatty streaks in an arterial wall can appear from the third year of age, and they show an association with atherogenic risk factors such as hypertension and sodium in the diet. Given the difficulty of data gathering, few studies report the intake of sodium in the diet.

OBJECTIVE

To determine average sodium intake in the diet of children between one and 18 months of age through a three-day dietary survey.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study with 48 children without renal disease or diet restrictions seen in pediatric practice between January and June, 2011. It included a dietary survey for the parents, nutritional status classification by anthropometry, and blood pressure measurements. Sodium content and other nutrients in the diet program were analyzed with the International Food Consumption Program (CERES), anthropometry with the World Health Organization Anthro program, and Epi-info for socio-demographic characteristics.

RESULTS

In total, 69% of children had high sodium consumption, 6.2% had high blood pressure, and 20.7% were overweight and obese.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of hypertension exceeds that reported for Colombia (1-3%). Two of the three children with high blood pressure had high sodium intake and they were overweight and obese, with values above those reported for Colombian children (16%). We suggest to measure blood pressure early, and to restrict salt and sugar in food for infants and children under two years of age. Also, larger studies should be conducted to collect population data on sodium intake and develop appropriate and timely intervention strategies to reduce risks in adulthood.

Commercial complementary food consumption is prospectively associated with added sugar intake in childhood

Given that commercial complementary food (CF) can contain high levels of added sugar, a high consumption may predispose to a preference for sweet taste later in life. This study examined cross-sectional associations between commercial CF consumption and added sugar intake in infancy as well as its prospective relation to added sugar intake in pre-school and primary-school age children. In all, 288 children of the Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed Study with 3-d weighed dietary records at 0·5 and 0·75 (infancy), 3 and 4 (pre-school age) and 6 and 7 years of age (primary-school age) were included in this analysis. Individual commercial CF consumption as percentage of total commercial CF (%cCF) was averaged at 0·5 and 0·75 years. Individual total added sugar intake (g/d, energy percentage/d) was averaged for all three age groups. Multivariable logistic and linear regression models were used to analyse associations between %cCF and added sugar intake. In infancy, a higher %cCF was associated with odds for high added sugar intake from CF and for high total added sugar intake (>75th percentile, P<0·033). Prospectively, a higher %cCF was related to higher added sugar intake in both pre-school (P<0·041) and primary-school age children (P<0·039), although these associations were attenuated in models adjusting for added sugar intake in infancy. A higher %cCF in infancy may predispose to higher added sugar intake in later childhood by virtue of its added sugar content. Therefore, offering home-made CF or carefully chosen commercial CF without added sugar might be one strategy to reduce sugar intake in infancy and later on.