Fifty three percent of food products specifically targeted to babies and toddlers in Canadian grocery stores have an excessive proportion -- more than 20 per cent -- of calories coming from sugar, according to a new study by University of Calgary professor Charlene Elliott.
The study, funded by the Centre for Science in the Public Interest Canada, examined sugar and sodium levels in 186 food products specifically marketed for babies and toddlers. Published in the advanced online version of the Journal of Public Health, the study also analysed four categories of baby/toddler foods against their adult counterparts to reveal whether a 'halo effect' attributed to baby/toddler food is warranted.
"There is a presumed halo effect around baby and toddler foods because people expect these foods to be held to a higher standard," says Elliott, an associate professor in the Communications & Culture department. "Yet this is not necessarily the case."
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The study, funded by the Centre for Science in the Public Interest Canada, examined sugar and sodium levels in 186 food products specifically marketed for babies and toddlers. Published in the advanced online version of the Journal of Public Health, the study also analysed four categories of baby/toddler foods against their adult counterparts to reveal whether a 'halo effect' attributed to baby/toddler food is warranted.
"There is a presumed halo effect around baby and toddler foods because people expect these foods to be held to a higher standard," says Elliott, an associate professor in the Communications & Culture department. "Yet this is not necessarily the case."
