Act now on baby and toddler nutrition to avert a future health crisis, say parliamentarians

The report from the Cross-Party Group on A Fit and Healthy Childhood issues a stark warning that poor nutrition in babies and toddlers is fuelling a future public health crisis and calls on the Government to act now. 

The report, titled Early Years Nutrition: Setting the Standards for Change, which was sponsored by Nursery Kitchen, was edited for the Cross-Party Group by Helen Clark drawing from submissions by a range of experts from the nursery, nutrition, children's health, medical and food sector, including the Children's Food Campaign and Sustain partners at Action on Salt and Sugar, Food and Behaviour (FAB) Research, the London Early Years Foundation, the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry, HENRY and TastEd.

From pre-conception to pre-school, from food and nutrition to physical activity and dental health, the report’s blueprint for change calls for:

1. A national nutrition strategy covering preconception, pregnancy, and postnatal periods, with professional training and expanded access to schemes like Healthy Start to reduce health inequalities.
2. Mandatory nutrition composition standards for commercial baby and toddler food and drink products.
3. Mandatory marketing and labelling standards for commercial baby and toddler food and drink products.
4. The inclusion of baby and toddler commercial food and drink products in placement, price, and advertising restrictions.
5. Targeted investment for research in early years nutrition.
6. Improved access to training and resources for early years staff to help implement the new EYFS nutrition guidance.
7. A consistent, practical system to monitor and assess adherence to nutrition standards in early years settings.
8. The extension of free school meals (FSM) to children in early years settings.
9. Mandatory oral health training for early years educators and healthcare professionals, and national roll - out of the supervised tooth-brushing programme.

The report was launched in Parliament on 16 July at an event hosted by Anna Sabine MP who said:

“The Government has made welcome commitments on school food, but for a better, more resilient generation, we must start earlier. Without a strong, nutritional foundation in the early years, later interventions won’t be enough. We’re proud to support the report that makes this case so powerfully.” 

Children's Food Campaign Manager at Sustain Barbara Crowther said: 

"The government has a vision to create the healthiest generation of children, and is pledging to give children the best start in life, but these words must be underpinned with bold action and investment.

"There is a crisis in baby and toddler nutrition right now, but this is still a woefully neglected and overlooked area of government policy and strategy.

"We're grateful to this parliamentary group for throwing a much needed spotlight on these issues.  From breastfeeding support and healthy nursery meals in nurseries and early years settings, to addressing the poor composition and misleading marketing of commercial baby foods and putting mandatory standards in place, parliamentarians must be in no doubt, action is needed and now."

Download the full report here: Early-Years-Nutrition_Setting-The-Standards-For-Change.pdf