Consumption of industrialized food by infants attending child day care centers

Abstract

Objective: To identify the age of introduction of petit suisse cheese and instant noodles in the diet of infants attending nurseries of public day care centers and to compare the nutritional composition of these foods with the healthy recommended diet (breast milk and salt meal) for this age, in order to estimate nutritional errors. Methods:Cross-sectional study of 366 children (from nine to 36 months old) who attended day care centers, whose mothers were interviewed about the age of introduction of those foods. The means of the nutrients indicated on the labels of the most consumed brands were considered. For the calculation of the percent composition of breast milk and salt meal, Tables of Food Composition were used. To assess the nutritional adequacy, we used the Dietary Reference Intakes by age group. The percentage of adequacy evaluation of the petit suisse cheese and the instant noodles nutritional compositions was made by comparing them with those of the human milk and the salt meal, respectively. Results:The petit suisse cheese and the instant noodles were consumed by 89.6 and 65.3% of the children in the first year of life. The percentages of adequacy for carbohydrates were more than twice and the percentages for sodium were 20 times higher than those found in the recommended foods. Conclusions:Both industrialized products are inappropriate for infants, emphasizing the need for adoption of norms that can inform health professionals, educators and parents about the risks of consumption.

Processed and ultra-processed food consumption among children aged 13 to 35 months and associated factors

“…Similar results have been found in studies assessing foods that are part of the processed and ultra-processed food products group in Brazil 40 and other countries 41,42 . Some authors suggest that low maternal education is associated with low purchasing power and lack of access to health information, which could possibly lead to unhealthy food choices for children 43,44,45 . Moreover, considering the high prevalence of advertising of ultra-processed food products by the food industry throughout the media, mothers with more years of education may have a greater ability to discern between healthy and unhealthy foods 46 .…”

Ultra-processed foods: Consumption among children at day-care centers and their classification according to Traffic Light Labelling system

“…Especially in the Brazilian market, its sales exceeded R$1.5 billion, representing 14% of the national consumption of pasta. Over 70% of noodle consumers come from low income households (C, D, and E classes), and are considered the most susceptible to make inadequate food choices due to their low education levels 14 .…”

Oferta de sódio na alimentação em creches municipais: um risco à saúde

“…Os alimentos industrializados, como biscoitos e macarrão instantâneo, também contêm alta concentração de sódio, além de excesso de gordura e açúcares 8,9 . Na população brasileira, esse tipo de produto contribui com metade da recomendação diária de sódio para um adulto 7 e estudos já apontaram a introdução precoce na alimentação de crianças, inclusive no primeiro ano de vida 33 . Portanto, a seleção dos produtos adquiridos para a alimentação das crianças deve ser mais criteriosa, conforme previsto na regulamentação do PNAE 2 , para evitar a oferta excessiva de sódio.…”