Do Children Need Special Foods?

In countries such as the U.S. and Canada, the term “children’s food” conjures images of milk, sugary cereals, yogurt tubes, and chicken fingers. Advertisers, restaurants, and media market these items as kid-friendly fare that’s convenient, palatable, fun, and supposedly “healthier” than adult foods.

Today the fear of children not getting adequate nutrients is encapsulated in new, ultraprocessed products. Enter “toddler milk” or “growing-up milk.” This powdered product is designed for children 1–3 years of age and is marketed to promote healthy brain growth because it contains DHA . In the U.S. from 2006 to 2015, the amount spent on advertising toddler milk saw a fourfold increase while sales multiplied 2.6 times.

So, while children have special nutritional requirements that change with each stage of development, they do not need special foods. In fact, such foods may be hurting kids. But even if kids don’t nutritionally need their own menu, do they just naturally want certain foods like buttered noodles and cheese sticks?Is Picky Eating Biological or Cultural? From 6 to 12 months of age, when children are completely dependent on their caregivers, they don’t discriminate much in their eating.

In Nepal, I researched children’s food among families in urban Kathmandu and those living in a rural village in the Himalayas. I collected data from parents about the diets of their children under 5 years of age and found that children mostly ate the same food as their older family members. But in Kathmandu, unlike in rural villages, children were regularly fed commercial products such as Nestlé’s Cerelac and sweet, packaged biscuits.

If studies show, then, that children aren’t biologically driven to be picky eaters, and they don’t require special meals for their nutritional well-being, why is the idea that children require their own category of food so pervasive? One of the most common—and harmful—ingredients in children’s foods is sugar. Epidemiological evidence links high sugar consumption with numerous health issues, such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

While the heightened desire for sweetness during childhood may be biologically driven, people are not programmed to eat sugar in the quantities they often do today. Prior to its mass production beginning in the 19th century, sugar was not available or affordable for most people. Since the development of high-fructose corn syrup, sweeteners have become cheaper and more ubiquitous than ever.

Great article from Moffat McMasterAlumni AnthroMac

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