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In Nepal, children under two consume a quarter of the calories from junk food, according to an innovative study that warns that their diet is linked to stunting and malnutrition.
Biscuits, chips, instant noodles and sugary drinks seem to replace foods rich in vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients that babies need to grow well, researchers say. The work, published in the Journal of Nutrition, shows that the diet of junk food of the twenty-first century, which is spreading around the world, is linked not only to obesity, but also to the low growth of children.
The study was conducted in the Kathmandu Valley with families of 745 children aged 12 to 23 months. He is among the first to examine the nutritional effects of snacks given to young children in a low-income country. The researchers work for Helen Keller International, a global health organization.
They found that all the kids in the study ate junk food, some more than others. Snacks that were high in sugar, salt and fat were half the calories of their age who ate less. They were more likely to have inadequate levels of nutrients essential for growth and development, including protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A and zinc.
"We hope these results will sound the alarm for researchers and policy makers – there is a need for further research on the role of snack foods in the health and development of nutritionally vulnerable children," said Dr. Alissa Pries, Senior Research Scientist. and research project on child nutrition.
"Packaged snack foods – usually high in sugar and salt and low in micronutrients – are increasingly available around the world. The health community is already increasingly concerned about the role of junk food or ultra-processed foods in the obesity epidemic, but for young children in contexts where access to nutritious foods is limited, this study indicates that these foods can also contribute to undernutrition. "
Snacks, some processed and packaged locally and other international, are common throughout Nepal, even in remote places, she said. "They are available on the shelves. There is marketing. Mothers and fathers choose these products, as in the United States and the United Kingdom because they are practical – and the child gives preference to these sweet snacks.
"A lot of caregivers said the food was not good for young kids – they used the English words" junk food "- but they said the driving force was convenience. They are easy to prepare and feed. Children can hold and eat them. "
Pries said that she was disturbed by the results. "Knowing that a quarter of all the calories consumed by these babies came from unhealthy foods and drinks – for me it was shocking," she told The Guardian. "The prevalence of consumption of these foods is increasing. We see it globally. "
The study was observational, so could not prove the cause and effect, but the authors call for more research on the potentially harmful effects on the development of junk food on little children.
"It is becoming increasingly clear that children are eating unhealthy snacks at a staggering rate," said Dr. Atul Upadhyay, co-author of the paper. "More attention and effort must be focused on increasing the consumption of locally available nutrient-rich foods and on developing strategies to limit the consumption of nutrients." unhealthy snacks in young children. "
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