Tag: Press Releases

• One in ten parents regularly give pre-school children meals close to the size of adult portions*
• Parents are unaware of the health consequences of feeding too much too often
• #rethinktoddlerportionsizes new campaign sheds light on how much is too much. It’s time to rethink our notion of how much food toddlers need

Continue reading →

As evidence builds on the risk for babies of overweight mothers, a new simple guide sheds light on the right advice to follow

 A new online resource, Ten Steps for a Healthy Pregnancy, aims to help mums-to-be to use pregnancy as a window of opportunity to build good habits for health, growth and development for both mum and baby. The resource by the Infant & Toddler Forum (ITF) Continue reading →

The latest statistics from the National Child Measurement Programme, show that over a fifth of pre-school children were still found to be overweight or obese. And by the time they reach 11 years old this figure is over 33%. Despite the slight decrease year on year, it’s still a concern that children are becoming overweight at such a young age. Continue reading →

Evidence-based Portion Sizes for children aged 1-4 years available to support healthy growth and development

With growing evidence of the impact of increasing portion sizes on the amounts of food that  adults and children consume⁽¹⁾, simple  and practical advice Continue reading →

New guidance helps parents to see the connection between developmental stages and feeding infants and young children

A brand new resource for parents combines the developmental stages of infants and young children and their relationship with food and feeding. This influence starts as early as in the womb. Continue reading →

It’s now well accepted that what happens during the very early years of life has a lifelong effect on certain aspects of health and well-being. It is clear that we do need to act earlier to ensure every child gets the best start in life. Meet our three new members who bring valuable insights and support to our extended focus into preconception and pregnancy

Dr Rosan Mayer, Honorary Senior Lecturer, Imperial College, Principal Paediatric Principal Research Dietitian, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (read her biography here),

Rosan said: “I am delighted to be a part of the ITF and look forward to contributing my expertise in paediatric nutrition, weaning and feeding of young children. I am particularly supportive of the ITF’s focus on early life nutrition and starting earlier in the life-course to improve the later life of the child, and wholeheartedly support the need to act earlier for later health.”

Gill Perks Lead Midwife at Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (read Gill’s biography here)

Gill said: “As a practising midwife I am delighted to be part of the ITF as it broadens its educational programme in to the area of pregnancy nutrition and advice. The importance of good and timely advice on weight, nutrition and guidance for women and families on how to have a healthy pregnancy and birth cannot be underestimated. Getting it right from the start is the key to starting families off to better future health.”

Sukrutha Verareddy MRCOG, PhD
Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Labour Ward Lead, Queen Elizabeth hospital, Woolwich Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust (read Sukrutha’s biography here)

Sukrutha said: “Since joining the ITF I have been keen to help contribute to the campaign to act earlier for later health. The trajectory for obesity is on the rise and I see many pregnant women who enter pregnancy with raised body mass Index that increases maternal and fetal risks. The ITF is committed to supporting families at the very start of life . Good advice on weight management, lifestyle and nutrition at pre-conception, during pregnancy and in-between pregnancies can really make a difference to future generations.”

Report by the Infant & Toddler Forum calls for nutrition guidance in pre-conception and pregnancy to be a public health priority

A report released today by the Infant & Toddler Forum (ITF)  highlights the need for pre-conception and pregnancy  to be seen as a critical ‘window of opportunity’ to improve the health of the next generation.

Backed by stakeholders in early life nutrition, including baby charity Tommy’s, Borne and the Pre-school Learning Alliance, the report, ‘Early Nutrition for Later Health: Time to Act Earlier’, acknowledges the emerging evidence that a mother’s weight and nutritional status before, during and between pregnancies can have a long lasting effect on the baby’s health and the risk of disease later in life. In fact how and what mothers eat could potentially affect the health of future generations.

The reality, however, is that we are not doing enough to take advantage of this opportunity. The report paints a picture of confusion and lack of advice for mums on nutrition and healthy lifestyles in pregnancy informed by a survey of 1,000 mothers and over 150 healthcare professionals:

• Just under half (46%) of mums said they made no changes to their diet after finding out they were pregnant
• 64 per cent of mums would welcome more advice or support relating to their pregnancy, with another one in two confused about the correct diet or supplementation for breastfeeding
• One in three healthcare professionals have had no training in nutrition in pregnancy or infant breast feeding and 43% had no training in obesity in pregnancy

“Pregnancy and pre-conception need to be our new focus.” says Dr Atul Singhal, Professor of Paediatric Nutrition at the UCL Institute of Child Health, and Chair of the ITF. “Although, the early years are now well-established as critical to influencing health outcomes in later life, and whilst the past ten years have seen a growing commitment to early years intervention, obesity is still a major public health issue that continues to threaten the health of younger people. England is the ninth fattest nation in Europe, and one in four seven to 11-year-olds are overweight or obese^[i]. That is why we need to focus earlier on in the life cycle, to influence nutrition and life choices from before conception through to preschool.

As we celebrate our 10^th anniversary there has never been a more crucial time to seize this opportunity for pregnant mothers to enhance the health of their child and for our health system to support them.”   

In response to the findings, the ITF is expanding its educational remit to take a life course approach to nutrition and health, from pregnancy and infancy through to toddlerhood. The ITF’s aim is to support and empower healthcare professionals to help 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.

Gill Perks, Midwifery Matron, Antenatal and Postnatal Services, NHS, said:

“This report supports the Department of Health’s mantra of ‘making every contact count’. In pre-conception and pregnancy we must not miss this opportunity to advise and influence a woman’s health, nutritional and dietary habits and midwives are in an ideal position to support women in this. 

“The report supports greater emphasis within primary care of pre-conception clinics to guide all parents-to-be on nutrition and lifestyle. It also calls for action to increase the uptake of recommended vitamins and supplements during pre-conception, pregnancy and breastfeeding. It’s not just about giving information, we need to be able to support women to change behaviour by recognising what works for them and having the healthy conversation. A move I support.”

 The first factsheet in the new pregnancy series, Healthy Eating in Pregnancy is available to download from the ITF website. To find out more information on health and development from pregnancy to preschool, visit the ITF website www.infantandtoddlerforum.org and sign up for monthly email bulletins with news and information about the Forum. 

Notes to Editors

• The report was informed by an in-depth survey and input from healthcare professionals and experts in the area of pregnancy, obesity and nutrition.  A survey of 1000 mums and 150 healthcare professionals was carried out by OnePoll in July 2014. Further results and executive summary are available from nhardman@saycomms.co.uk
• Childhood overweight and obesity remains at about 30% and this level shows no signs of declining[ii]
• The seeds of diabetes are sown very early in life – most excess weight before puberty is gained before five years of age[iii]
• Diet-related disease cost the NHS £5.8bn a year in 2006-7^[iv]
• The life course approach suggests that some factors in the risk of adult chronic disease may begin in foetal life due to the lifestyle choices and the physical and social environment of the mother before and during pregnancy and her genetic inheritance influence the foetal environment.[v] There is increasing evidence that these risks begin in foetal life and continue into old age. Adult chronic disease, therefore, reflects cumulative differential lifetime exposures to damaging physical and social environments
• The Infant and Toddler Forum brings together an independent, multi-disciplinary team of experts and practitioners from paediatrics, neonatology, health visiting, dietetics, child psychology, midwifery and obstetrics to share new ideas and to debate the latest thinking in infant and toddler nutrition. Best practice guidance on food and feeding for all young families is paramount for children’s health and wellbeing now and in the future For ten years the Forum and its partners have strived to raise awareness and promote positive change in the field of toddler nutrition and feeding behaviour, with all guidance being in alignment with DH increased emphasis on early years intervention.
• The Infant and Toddler Forum is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition. The views and outputs of the group, however, remain independent of Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition and its commercial interest.

[i] European Association for the Study of Obesity. Facts and Statistics. 2013. Available at http://easo.org/task-forces/childhood-obesity-cotf/facts-statistics Last accessed 21.02.14

^[ii] 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

[iii] Gardner DS, Hosking J et al. Contribution of early weight gain to childhood overweight and metabolic health: a longitudinal study (EarlyBird 36). Pediatrics, 123: e67-e73. 2009

[iv] Scarborough P, Bhatnager P et al. The economic burden of ill health due to diet, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol and obesity in the UK: an update to 2006 – 2007 NHS costs. Journal of Public Health, May 2011, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 527 – 535

[v] Darnton-Hill I, Nishida C et al. A life course approach to diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases. 2004. Public Health Nutrition: 7(1A), 101–121 DOI: 10.1079/PHN2003584

Today, an independent group of leading experts in child nutrition and development, the Infant & Toddler Forum (ITF), launches a Factsheet on Developmental Stages in Infant and Toddler Feeding. The Factsheet is the first authoritative work to bring together the developmental milestones of infants and their relationship with food and feeding, influenced even during their time in the womb.

This useful guide aims to provide health and childcare professionals with an evidence-based description of the developmental stages observed around food and feeding in infants and young children. It makes the link between developmental milestones, such as motor skills and the importance they play in the development of an infant’s feeding habits and ability to eat and drink.

Gill Harris, Paediatric Clinical Psychologist and member of the ITF comments:
“Feeding babies and young children can be an intense and emotional (positive and negative) experience for both parent and child. During the early years, a child’s relationship with food, such as milk-feeding, the introduction of complementary foods and the transition to family foods, can be critical for his or her health and development, and have long term consequences on dietary range. Parents often ask health professionals when their child will attain feeding and drinking related skills and acquire preferences for particular foods. This Factsheet aims to provide that knowledge to health and childcare professionals. They will then be better informed when discussing developmental milestones with parents.”

The Factsheet offers an overview of the developmental stages in infants and is split into four sections, giving in-depth and illustrated advice on feeding babies and young children.
The four sections are:

• skills related to feeding and eating
• specific feeding skills
• taste, texture and food preferences
• appetite regulation

The Developmental Stages in Infant and Toddler Feeding Factsheet is now available for free from here.

A Guidance & Tips resource on the Developmental Stages for parents will be available soon.

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.

In its tenth anniversary year, the Infant & Toddler Forum calls for greater awareness of the connection between nutrition and health in early life and the impact poor nutrition has on a child’s health, now and in the future.

The Infant & Toddler Forum (ITF) is proud to celebrate its 10th anniversary this year with a renewed commitment to ensuring all children get the best start in life.

The early years are now well-established as critical to influencing health outcomes in later life, and whilst the past ten years have seen a growing commitment to early years intervention, obesity is still a major public health issue that continues to threaten the health of younger people. England is the ninth fattest nation in Europe, and one in four seven to 11-year-olds are overweight or obese.i There is a four-fold increase in the number of children admitted to hospital over the last decade due to obesity-related illnesses,ii and parents are often reluctant to accept that their child is overweight – recent research has shown that 77% of parents did not agree that their child was overweight, and of those who did, only 41% accepted they were putting their child’s future health at risk.iii

Judy More, paediatric dietitianand ITF member, said: “While children’s diets have shown improvement over the last ten years, there is still more work to be done. Obesity and dental decay are seen in children who have an excess of sweet food and drinks, and iron deficiency anaemia in those that are offered a poor diet without enough iron rich foods. Rickets is a fairly rare disease but is found in toddlers who are not given a vitamin D supplement and whose mothers did not take a vitamin D supplement during pregnancy.

“It’s clear, we need to act earlier” says Dr Atul Singhal, Professor of Paediatric Nutrition at the UCL Institute of Child Health, and Chair of the ITF. “Evidence is slowly building to reveal a connection between the health of the mother and later health of the child, suggesting that protecting the nutrition and health of women before and during pregnancy may be the starting point if we are to improve the health of the next generation.”

This year, the ITF will take 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.

A key publication this year will be the Developmental Stages of Early Feeding Factsheet. Developmental milestones can be important markers of typical child development and can be used to reassure parents about their child’s development. This evidence-based resource will give simple, practical advice about the development of skills related to feeding and eating behaviour from before birth.

In March 2014 the ITF will launch an iPhone app to give parents and carers the ability to log and analyse their child’s daily food intake. The Tot It Up app will be available through the Apple App Store and will provide practical advice based on a child’s food intake, to help parents ensure they have a balanced diet.

To find out more information on health and development in the early years, sign up for monthly email bulletins with news and information from the Infant & Toddler Forum.

i European Association for the Study of Obesity. Facts and Statistics. 2013. Available at http://easo.org/task-forces/childhood-obesity-cotf/facts-statistics Last accessed 21.02.14
ii Jones Nielsen J, Laverty A, et al. Rising Obesity-Related Hospital Admissions among Children and Young People in England: National Time Trends Study. June 2013. PLOS ONE Vol 8 Issue 6 365764

iii Saxena A, Laverty AA. Confronting child obesity in primary care, British Journal of General Practice. January 2014

Infant & Toddler Forum launches “make mine active” Activity Advent Calendar for a healthy, happy toddler Christmas.

Christmas is a hugely exciting time for toddlers, in anticipation of the big day. To help keep them occupied and active during the festive season, The Infant & Toddler Forum (ITF) has launched a free online advent calendar which gives parents a daily activity to do with their toddler throughout December. The ITF has also launched a factsheet – Physical Activity and Play for Toddlers – which gives practical advice for parents and carers about exercise and active play.

Christmas is a time for families to be together, to relax, and celebrate the season. But festive parties and extra food can mean that families lose sight of everyday routines. Nap times are essential but may be late or cut short, and toddlers may be travelling at unfamiliar times, which means meals and snacks may be rushed and regular activity may get forgotten. This can be detrimental to a toddler’s mood.

Help is at hand – the interactive online advent calendar allows parents and toddlers to open a different door in the calendar every day by visiting the ITF website. Behind each door is an activity to do together such as having a Christmas dance-a-thon or making a welcome sign for Santa Claus.

The ITF Activity Factsheet provides easy-to-follow tips to help families and carers of children under-5 to encourage physical activity and play as part of everyday life.

The UK is currently facing a health time bomb, with only 32% of boys and 24% of girls in England between the ages of two and 15 getting the recommended amount of exercise.[i] Given that over 20% of children entering school (age 4+ years) are already overweight or obese,[ii] there is growing concern that a sedentary lifestyle with too much time in front of screens, or being strapped in car seats and push chairs, will take its toll on children’s future health and wellbeing.

This sort of lifestyle can not only lead to a higher likelihood of later health problems such as being overweight or obese, it can also impact on children’s cognitive development.

Judy More, Paediatric Dietitian, and member of the Infant & Toddler Forum, said: “It’s so important we keep toddlers active for good health and wellbeing both now and in the future. It doesn’t have to be complicated – just taking your toddler out walking somewhere everyday even if it is raining – they like jumping in puddles.20 minutes or so at a playground on the way home might be even more popular. For this Christmas we’ve created an Advent Activity Calendar to inspire mums with different activity ideas for toddlers while having some family fun at the same time.”

Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter said: “The Government is encouraging parents to get their young children physically active for at least 180 minutes a day in order to give them the best chance of a healthy start in life.”

This Activity Calendar and Factsheet have lots of fun and festive ideas for keeping your child active over Christmas.

So to keep the toddler tantrums at bay this Christmas and have some fun, access the Activity Advent Calendar and the Activity Factsheet at www.infantandtoddlerforum.org and keep the whole family active.

The Infant & Toddler Forum is a partner of the Department of Health’s Public Health Responsibility Deal, with a pledge to take action to improve health.

These resources and more can be downloadedfor free from www.infantandtoddlerforum.org

Notes to editors

1. The Infant & Toddler Forum brings together an independent, multi-disciplinary team of experts and practitioners from paediatrics, neonatology, health visiting, dietetics, and child psychology, to share new ideas and to debate the latest thinking in infant and toddler nutrition. Best practice guidance on food and feeding for all young families is paramount for children’s health and wellbeing now and in the future. For more than nine years the Forum and its partners have strived to raise awareness and promote positive change in the field of toddler nutrition and feeding behaviour, with all guidance being in alignment with DH increased emphasis on early years intervention

2. The Infant & Toddler Forum is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Danone Baby Nutrition. The views and outputs of the group, however, remain independent of Danone Baby Nutrition and its commercial interests

[i] Physical activity statistics 2012. British Heart Foundation Health Promotion Research Group Department of Public Health, University of Oxford

[ii] http://bma.org.uk/working-for-change/improving-and-protecting-health/child-health/growing-up-in-the-uk