Baby food companies are misrepresenting the health of their products. Many of the food items available at several grocery stores across the country advertised for ages 6 months to 36 months do not meet health standards set by the World Health Organization. This could be contributing to health problems down the line and contributing to the growing obesity epidemic in the United States.
False food facts A study published in the journal Nutrients found that 60% of 651 foods in the U.S. marketed towards infants and toddlers failed to meet nutritional standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Almost all the foods also failed to meet the WHO's advertising standards, requiring the product labels to be clear about ingredients and nutrition facts. "Time-poor parents are increasingly choosing convenience foods, unaware that many of these products lack key nutrients needed for their child's development and tricked into believing they are healthier than they really are," Elizabeth Dunford, one of the study authors, said in a press release . Of all the tested products, 70% failed to meet WHO's recommendation on protein content, 25% did not meet calorie recommendations and 20% had salt levels above the suggested limits.
The most at fault were baby food pouches. "Research shows 50% of the sugar consumed from infant foods comes from pouches, and we found those were some of the worst offenders," Dunford said to CNN . These are also some of the fastest-growing baby food products in.