Month: March 2014

The Infant & Toddler Forum (ITF) welcomes new research published this week in Paediatricsi that establishes a direct, positive association between physical activity in four year old children and their mothers – the more activity the mother did, the more active the child. In addition, another study from the University College London, published in International Journal of Obesityii highlighted that toddlers that received less than ten hours sleep ate 10% more calories than those who slept for longer, which put this group at a greater risk of obesity.

This new evidence supports the ITF’s Ten Steps for Healthy Toddlers programme which encourages toddlers to engage in 3 hours of physical activity and 12 hours of sleep per day and highlights the important role parents have to play in developing healthy habits early on in life.

Judy More, paediatric dietician and ITF member said: “Whilst good nutrition will go a long way to optimising health, growth and development in young children, parents and health professionals must not underestimate the importance of activity and sleep too. Encouraging active play, active lifestyles and regular sleep patterns is critical for physical and mental health and development. Physical activity in the toddler years is vital for developing the physical skills, coordination and confidence to ensure enjoyment and participation in sport throughout their school life thus reducing the likelihood of obesity and the risks of developing heart disease and diabetes later in life.”

Celebrating its ten year anniversary, the ITF is taking a life course approach to nutrition and health, exploring the early connection through pregnancy, infancy and toddlerhood. Our aim is to support and empower families to make healthy lifestyle choices by delivering clear, practical advice on those critical early windows of opportunity to provide children with the best start in life.

References

i. Activity Levels in Mothers and Their Preschool Children, Pediatrics, 24th March 2014. Available at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2014/03/19/peds.2013-3153.abstract?sid=6c1dbbed-4a4b-4d7f-8824-f138ff090f30 Last accessed 26.03.14

ii. International Journal of Obesity, http://www.nature.com/ijo/index.html Last accessed 26.03.14

Experts launch app to monitor the food intake and activity levels of children aged 1 – 4 years

Do you think your toddler is a fussy eater? Do you worry they may not be getting the right balance of foods? Now there’s an easy way to keep track of their nutritional intake with the Tot It Up food calculator app.

Created by the Infant & Toddler Forum (ITF), Tot It Up provides a personal analysis of a toddler’s daily – or more importantly, weekly – food intake compared against current recommendations, together with tips on how to make small changes to maintain the right balance.

Parents and carers can input details of what meals, snacks and drinks a toddler has consumed throughout the day and/or week, as well as the amount of physical activity he or she has done, to receive a personalised analysis with advice on improving diet and physical activity.

An added worry for families, who want to get nutrition right in the toddler years, is an increasing reliance on convenience foods which, for toddlers, can be low in key nutrients and too high in fat and sugar, leading to obesity. Later in life diets with excess fat, salt and sugar can lead to high blood pressure and diabetes. Tot It Up gives practical tips and information on healthy eating whether you use home-cooked or pre-prepared foods.

Judy More, paediatric dietitian and ITF member said: “Young children need nutritious food for their rapid growth and development, but have good and bad days when it comes to eating. So it’s best to consider the balance of foods eaten over the week. The Tot It Up food calculator allows parents to see how their toddler’s diet over a week, or a day, compares to current recommendations. Often parents find their toddler is eating better than they thought and this helps to remove the stress from mealtimes. When parents feel more relaxed and confident in feeding their toddler a problem of fussy eating may resolve.”

With portion sizes being double what they were 20 years ago, families can feel confused about how much they should be eating.1 Toddlers are naturally better than older children and adults at regulating their food intake, to provide enough calories for their energy needs and for normal growth. However, one predictor of how much young children eat is how much is put on their plates. 2-3

The Tot It Up app gives practical advice based on the ITF’s award winning portion size recommendations for 1-4 year olds. The App is the latest resource from the ITF which aims to arm parents with practical tools and advice to help them feed their toddlers in line with their nutritional needs at this important stage in their development. Tot It Up is available from the Apple App store. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tot-it-up/id833490646?ls=1&mt=8

References

1. British Heart Foundation. Portion Distortion: How much are we really eating? 2013. Available from: http://www.bhf.org.uk/plugins/PublicationsSearchResults/DownloadFile.aspx?docid=983f629e-ec72-4fd8-8d32-9eda97acd040&version=-1&title=Portion+Distortion&resource=N%2fA

2. Savage, J.S. et al. Serving smaller age-appropriate entree portions to children aged 3-5 y increases fruit and vegetable intake and reduces energy density and energy intake at lunch. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Feb;95(2):335-41.

3. Fisher, J.O. et al. Effects of portion size and energy density on young children’s intake at a meal. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jul;86(1):174-9.

The Infant & Toddler Forum (ITF) responds to research results from a new survey commissioned by Vouchercloud – showing that only one in five children eats vegetables every day, and that one in ten totally refuses to eat vegetables – by offering simple, practical advice for parents, carers and healthcare professionals on food and feeding.

The study polled 1,912 parents with children aged 10 or under and the results are not surprising because children prefer familiar foods and parents tend to offer those foods that they know their children will eat. Children need to be encouraged to try new foods and it is best to begin healthy eating habits early because babies are usually happy to try new tastes during weaning. Attitudes to food change in the second year and fussy toddlers may refuse vegetables.

Parents’ best strategy at this time is to role model by eating with their children and eating the vegetables they want their children to eat. As children grow older it is really important to keep this up and to offer vegetables at both the midday and evening meals because taste preferences and eating habits influence health.

Judy More, paediatric dietitian and ITF member said: “Young children need nutritious food for their rapid growth and development, but prefer familiar foods and also have good and bad days when it comes to eating. Some toddlers need to be offered a new food up to 10 – 14 times before they will be brave enough to try tasting it. An emphasis on developing healthy eating habits early in life and nutritional guidance for the early years should be a key public health strategy. We need to, not only prevent childhood dietary deficiencies, but also prevent children becoming overweight and obese because many of them will remain so as adults with the associated risk of developing chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.”

Celebrating its ten year anniversary, the ITF is taking a life course approach to nutrition and health, exploring the early connection through pregnancy, infancy and toddlerhood. Our aim is to support and empower families to make healthy lifestyle choices by delivering clear, practical advice on those critical early windows of opportunity to provide children with the best start in life.

Notes to editors

Childhood overweight and obesity remains at about 30% and this level shows no signs of declining.

i. Health and Social Care Information Centre, Lifestyles Statistics. Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet: England, 2013, London.
Available at http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB10364/obes-phys-acti-diet-eng-2013-rep.pdf Last accessed 21.02.14