The period in which solid foods are introduced into an infant’s diet, is critical for developing healthy eating habits. Food preferences developed now, carry over into childhood and adulthood, and thus have impact on long term health.
Scientists at Danone Research & Innovation are dedicated to understand the nutritional challenges during the first 1000 days, from conception until 2 years of age. In a review article, recently published in the Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, we describe in detail the nutritional intakes of young children in several European countries, and compare those to the nutritional recommendations for these age groups.
We conclude from the available nutritional intake data, that the dietary intakes of vegetables, n-3 fatty acids, iron, vit D and iodine are too low, and the intakes of protein, saturated fatty acids, sodium and added sugar are too high.
We strongly believe that a focus on improving feeding habits and approaches to support more balanced nutritional intakes early in life could have significant public health benefits.