This September, one in five children starting primary school in the UK will be officially overweight or obese. Meanwhile, the number of child obesity-related hospital admissions has increased fourfold in the last decade alone.
By the age of four, many children are already at higher risk of developing health problems - whether that be heart disease, diabetes or asthma - later in life. Clearly, we need to change the way we feed our children.
Parents we talk to accept that they must play the primary role in making good choices, but they also want change from the food industry. A MumPanel poll released this week reveals that only 8% of parents trust the food industry to provide healthy and nutritious food for their children and 73% think the food industry should take greater responsibility for ensuring that children’s food is healthy and nutritious.
Research published in the journal Public Health Nutrition last year showed products marketed at children are often higher in salt, fat and sugar than the adult equivalents. They also contain additives to mask the flavour of cheap ingredients.
”No wonder we are facing a crisis of trust in the food industry”
No wonder we are facing a crisis of trust in the food industry. Deep down, I think we know that much of the food marketed at children is failing to give them the best start. Yes, parents physically put the items in their trolleys and serve them to their children, but the industry has a responsibility too.
We should think about making the food we produce the best it can be. Parents want the industry to reduce the additives, fat, salt and sugar in foods aimed at children and are calling for clearer labelling to inform their choices. They want to feel protected by regulation and to be confident the food they buy is healthy.
At Organix, our mission is to make healthy and nutritious children’s food accessible to all. We are working with parents to demand better food and also helping them to make good food choices through honest advice about growing, cooking, and eating great food.
We are committed to setting standards in our foods and never adding anything unnecessary, which we guarantee through our No Junk Promise. We want to demonstrate that it is possible to create healthy and nutritious food for children, without additives, and still make a profit.
To that end, we are launching a No Junk Challenge - which will run from 28 April to 4 May - to support parents in understanding what is on the label and what goes into the food they buy. We want to show that it’s possible to get all the fun, enjoyment and taste that children want, without a long list of ingredients you need a degree to understand.
At a recent innovation food conference, only three people out of the 250 present raised their hands when asked if they thought there should be more regulation of food. But self-regulation is obviously failing the next generation if we are facing rapidly growing obesity levels, diabetes and heart disease.
If we want to do the right thing for society and for children, then surely this is a major challenge that should keep us all awake at night.
Anna Rosie is managing director of Organix
No comments yet