Almost three quarters of all products aimed at children on supermarket shelves are unhealthy for them, says the UN Children's Fund UNICEF in a report published on Tuesday.
UNICEF examined more than 2,000 products for children, including breakfast cereals, desserts, and drinks, to see if they comply with government recommendations on healthy eating.
Most products were found to contain too many calories, too much salt, sugar, and saturated fats, or were low in fiber. UNICEF also discovered that supermarkets showed ‘no restraint’ in promoting unhealthy products for children, especially by using popular cartoon characters in their advertising and displays.
Promotion
About 16% of children and teenagers in the Netherlands are overweight, and 3% are considered obese. Of the foods aimed at babies and toddlers, only one third met the guidelines, the researchers found. Only one in 39 breakfast cereals proved to be healthy for children, and of the 865 child-targeted sandwich toppings, no fewer than 829 were unhealthy. None of the desserts met the diet recommendations.
This is the first time that Dutch products aimed at children have been investigated on this scale. ‘That three quarters of the products do not meet the recommended nutrition is shocking,’ UNICEF Netherlands director Suzanna Laszlo told Algemeen Dagblad.
‘Many children eat too much of what they don't need and too little of what they do need. This can cause overweight and diabetes.’ Laszlo said she hoped the report would change government policy and supermarket policy.
Supermarket organization CBL called the UNICEF report ‘too negative’ in response. ‘A child does not want to be born in a better country than the Netherlands, where food is healthy, varied, and safe,’ CBL director Marc Jansen told NRC.
‘Should supermarkets become greengrocers, or should we let parents decide? I think UNICEF goes too far when they say children's rights are being violated by the sale of legally permitted products.’
The food industry center CBL also criticized the healthy eating guidelines for being ‘too strict’ and stated that promotions featuring cartoon characters have almost been phased out, although UNICEF found them in promotional material for 25% of the products. Supermarkets are also working on reducing salt and sugar content, Jansen said.
The center’s guidelines are based on the five main food groups, the “Wheel of Five,” and people are advised to eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, and whole grain products. Meat consumption should be reduced and replaced with legumes, nuts, eggs, or tofu, according to CBL.