Nutrition, Convenience, and the Responsibility We Share

Shocking Findings Spark a Deeper Look

An earlier blog of mine (April, 2025) referred to access to nutrition as one of the socio-economic factors that helps to improve and maintain the wellbeing of children. Last month I was shocked to read the BBC (2025) report that baby food pouches from six of the leading brands are low in key nutrients as well as containing more sugar in a single pouch than a one year old should have in a day. This was compounded by The Kings Fund highlighting that primary school staff are having to administer laxatives due to a 60% rise in children suffering with constipation due to poor diet and not drinking enough plain water (Weale, 2025).

Why Nutrition Matters More Than Ever

This prompted me to take a further focus on the topic as it is fundamental to children’s health, such as the amount of food eaten, whether too much or not enough, and its links to obesity and/or malnutrition as well as the consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). This at a time when we have more variety of foods on our shelves than ever before.

The Role of Socio-Economic Inequalities

We know these health inequalities strongly influence child health outcomes (RCPH ,2022). Children from lower income families are more likely to eat poor quality food as parents are less able to afford the more expensive healthier alternatives (Food Foundation, 2023). We also know that the concentration of takeaways is higher in areas of deprivation than the more affluent ones. Increased austerity means that there is often a tough choice as to whether food or payment of bills is the priority. It is obvious that poor long term health will be a natural consequence of these trends, leading to an increase in the rate of diabetes, some cancers and cardio-vascular disease (Alvez and Alvez, 2024).

Ultra-Processed Foods: A Hidden Threat

UPF’s are now attracting increased attention surrounding the links to poor nutrition. They mainly contain reconstituted or synthesised ingredients with very little natural foodstuffs. They are packed with chemicals and preservatives. They are also powerfully marketed as convenient and attractive to younger people via television, billboards or social media to increase their consumption and ensuing profit.

These advertising campaigns successfully push junk food and highly sweetened foodstuffs - sometimes claiming them as healthy or fun alternatives and often recommend sizing up to larger portions as a ‘good deal’. We can probably all recall a range of adverts and linked brands of breakfast cereals, cakes, ice creams crisps, chocolate, fizzy drinks, ready meals and sauces that we have responded to and have in our cupboards right now. Often they have been there as staples for years so we might not realise the potential damage they are doing to the diets of babies, toddlers children and ourselves as we continue to use them.

We know that the earlier children start eating them the more likely they are to continue consuming them as their habits and likes will be embedded behaviour as they get older.

Taking Shared Responsibility for Health

It is absolutely true that the government and food industries have a huge role to play in this but we cannot shirk responsibility as parents, grandparents and early year professionals either. We now know what healthy food is and we also know how difficult it is to change behaviour. So we need to start early to give our children the best chance.

I am a child of the 1970’s where convenience foods were ‘king’. Most meals were with chips and we loved them. I still do! I am overweight, drink more alcohol and eat more Maltesers than I probably should, so am not preaching loud from any pulpit. However, I am more enlightened now regarding the effects of a healthy versus non healthy diet and have brought this into my own lifestyle and my family’s. I care about my health, their health and the generations to come. I’m sure you do too!

So it’s essential we consider how we can model healthy eating patterns to those that depend on us and make wise choices where we can. As well as the obvious improvement to physical health, we know that mental health is also linked to wellbeing and positive food choices. When we feel well we are more inclined to make positive food choices as they link in to our long term health goals. In short they are interconnected.

10 Practical Ways to Improve Nutrition

So we can choose to:

1. Increase our fruit and vegetable intake, eating those in season, to help improve the fibre in our diet.

2. Include more plant based foods to increase fibre as well as for economic and ecological reasons.

3. Be mindful of the pleasant flavours and textures when eating and savour our mealtimes with others.

4. Consume gut friendly foods to improve our digestive tract such as nuts, yoghurts, salmon.

5. Reduce the white sugar content to help control our blood sugar.

6. Reduce the processed red meat to reduce risk of heart disease and stroke.

7. Reduce the alcohol to agreed limits or cut out altogether to improve liver function and reduce accidents.

8. Be curious and learn how to increase skills in planning and cooking simple meals.

9. Enjoy the odd ‘treat’ as life needs celebration.

10. Plan to do one of the above as a personal goal for a month and see how you get on.

    
    
    
    

A Final Word: Food for Thought

I hope this blog gives you an opportunity to reflect on your own nutritional lifestyle, helping you to appreciate the ‘good stuff’ you are doing and providing some ‘food for thought’ for any positive changes you might want to try.

Thanks for reading,

Dr Jan