Although many commercial foods made for infants tend to have little sugar and sodium added, a large number of dinners, snacks, and desserts sold in the United States that are designed for toddlers contain added sugar and salt, according to a study published in Pediatrics.
In fact, 72% of toddler dinners examined contained added sodium – with an average of 2,295 mg of sodium per 1,000 kcal – and 32% percent of toddler dinners contained added sugar, wrote Mary E. Cogswell, DrPH, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, and her associates. The majority of dairy-based desserts (70%) and fruit juices (88%) intended for both infant and toddler consumption also contained added sugar.
For infant diets, nearly all of the vegetables, dinners, fruits, dry cereals, and ready-to-serve mixed grains and fruits examined by the researchers were low in sodium content and did not contain added sugars. But 52% of ready-to-serve mixed grains and fruits contained too much added sugar, and 44% of those took more than one-third of their total calories from sugar.
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Dr. Cogswell and her associates used a nutrition database to identify 1,074 food products sold in the United States and marketed to infants, toddlers, or both. They evaluated the products for sugar content and sodium content based on package information. Nutritional content was assessed based on amount per 100 g (concentration), amount per serving, and total amount in relation to calories.
Approximately 79% of U.S. children aged 1-3 years exceed the upper level of 1,500 mg/day of sodium recommended by the Institute of Medicine, the researchers noted (Pediatrics 2014 [doi:10.1542/peds.2014-3251]).
“Key advice for parents includes limiting juice and avoiding sugar-sweetened beverages and energy-dense, nutrient-poor snacks; if purchasing commercial toddler foods, the labels should be checked for sodium and added sugar,” the authors wrote.
The study was supported by the CDC. The authors reported no relevant financial disclosures.