A couple of years ago, I undertook a research project looking at supermarket food products that are specifically marketed or ‘designed’ for children. The results of this study were recently published and I would like to share some of the key findings with you. Firstly, it’s important to understand the difference between what is considered core foods (everyday foods that we should eat plenty of) and discretionary foods (sometimes foods that should only be included in small amounts).
Core foods vs Discretionary foods
Typically, core foods (also called the Five Food Groups) are vegetables, fruit, dairy (or alternatives), meat/chicken/fish (or alternatives), and cereals (preferably wholegrain). Discretionary foods on the other hand are higher in added sugar, salt or saturated fat and energy but relatively low in nutrients. For most children discretionary foods should only be included on special occasions, or no more than a couple of times a week. Despite recommendations, Australian kids are currently receiving approximately 30% of their daily energy needs from discretionary foods.
The Study
I was interested in finding out exactly how many of the children’s food products on the supermarkets shelves could be considered ‘core-type’ foods and how many are discretionary (that is, should only be eaten occasionally). I was particularly interested in the products that made some kind of claim of being healthy or made a reference to a core food on the product label. For example, food products which were labelled as ‘containing wholegrains’ or ‘made from real fruit’. I didn’t analyse foods that were clearly discretionary (lollies, cake, chocolate, cordial) so before I even began crunching the numbers, 142 of the 298 children’s products available across three supermarkets were omitted. That’s almost 50% of the available children’s products which were considered discretionary choices before I even began!
What I found – the results
For the remaining 156 products, I used two separate methods to assess their ‘healthiness’ and I have to include my BIG disclaimer: there is no perfect way to test if a food is healthy. How we perceive the healthiness of a food has a lot to do with our personal ‘nutrition radar’, however, the two methods I used were based on the best available evidence on what nutrients/aspects of food should be used to rate its healthiness. Regardless of the method used, I can confidently state that over 60% of the foods I analysed should be considered discretionary foods and only eaten every now and then, and in small amounts. When you consider there were 298 products I originally identified as being specifically marketed towards children, around two-thirds are discretionary foods.
So what products were less healthy?
Children’s cereals were the biggest culprit. Over 80% of the cereals I analysed contained added sugar as the first or second ingredient. Remember though that these were cereals marketed specifically at children and didn’t include cereals such as natural muesli, oats, sultana bran etc. SO before you go throwing away all the cereal in your cupboard, remember that many of the regular cereals are a pretty good breakfast option. Just steer clear of the bright colourful boxes that might feature a toucan or monkey.
There’s a relatively easy way to tell if a food product should be consumed less often without having to look at the individual nutrients, or have a deep understanding of nutrition labels. Quite simply, look at the ingredients list. In Australia, ingredients must be listed in order of how much the product contains (from highest to lowest) so if you can see sugar, salt or saturated fat (such as palm oil) in the first three ingredients, chances are, the product is NOT a core food. If you can see ingredients such as wholegrains, milk, meat, vegetables or fruit in the first few ingredients, you’re probably closer to having a ‘healthier’ product. Keep in mind that some products (such as yoghurt or cheese) have very few ingredients so you might see sugar or salt high on the list but overall the product is closer to a core product than a discretionary one.
A number of products did fit the above description (core-type products). There are some pretty good ‘kids’ pasta meals and pasta sauces that contain lots of vegetables and lean meats. In saying that, kids really don’t need pasta meals designed especially for them, the standard versions are just as good. There are some good snack options that contain wholegrains, nuts and seeds but these are usually difficult to pick out among similar snacks loaded with added sugar and salt. It’s definitely easy to see how parents might have difficulty picking out the ‘better for you’ options!
Take home message
The aim of my research wasn’t to demonise children’s packaged food. It was designed to develop an understanding of the foods that should be eaten occasionally as opposed to regularly. The results indicate that around 2/3rds of food marketed to children in supermarkets should be reserved for special occasions or only a couple of times a week. There is a place in just about every diet for ‘sometimes’ food especially when overall, healthier options feature regularly. At the end of the day, teaching children to tune into their body’s satiety cues and exploring a range of foods is more important than teaching them what is ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
Eat happy!
Nina Meloncelli
Accredited Practising Dietitian
Thank you to Nina Meloncelli APD for putting the results of her Honours research project into plain language for us all to understand in this month’s blog post.
