New research sheds light on barriers to reducing sugary foods given to children

Nutrition is a key component of the healthy growth and development of children. New research led by Dr Regina Keith has identified four key themes around the barriers to reducing sugary foods given to children: knowledge not leading to changes; communication challenges; barriers to improving family healthy eating practices and the lack of public health nutrition services. 

The researchers spoke with mothers with children under five, mother in laws, service providers and carers in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets through interviews, direct observations and focus groups to identify these barriers.

Participants involved in the study demonstrated high levels of knowledge on what constitutes healthy eating, such as increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables their children eat while reducing sugar, salt and fat intake. However, this did not lead to behaviour change, and participants felt that they would prefer a one-to-one session with a health worker.

Communication challenges were also found to be a barrier for participants, with misleading messages negatively affecting food choices. Participants raised the problem of mixed messages regarding what was classed as a ‘healthy snack’. Many food labels targeting young children carry misleading health claims such as ‘two of your five a day’ or ‘organic’, despite having extremely high levels of sugar content.

Challenges experienced when trying to improve children’s eating habits also included the cost of healthy food options, making them inaccessible for some families. They also identified the lack of time to buy and prepare healthy food options, unhealthy treats being given by family and friends and the unhealthy takeaway food environment as key barriers to improving family healthy eating practices.

Finally, they identified a lack of public health nutrition services and support. Participants said there was not enough clarity regarding who mothers and service providers should refer to regarding nutrition problems including fussy eating, portion sizes and diet diversity. Half of the early years’ services providers who were interviewed had no training on healthy eating guidelines, although training had been planned. Parents also did not think that the sugar tax would have significant impact on the consumption of sugar or on childhood obesity levels.

Through their findings, Dr Keith and her team highlight the negative impact of the sustained austerity measures implemented in the UK over the last decade. To combat these barriers, Dr Keith and her team suggest setting up referral networks that could help to improve knowledge and reduce the levels of sugary foods consumed by children. They also suggest that all communities need to develop systems for collecting perceptions of local communities on healthy eating to ensure their voices can feed into future policies and plans.

Talking about the research, Dr Regina Keith said: “We need to invest in community public health nutrition support services and reduce aggressive advertising of unhealthy options. We also need to invest in food system solutions reducing ultra-processed foods and hidden sugar and salt in foods. 

“Children should be introduced to nutrition and cooking classes in school as well as how to grow their own food to increase their consumption of fruit and vegetables. More support for urban projects linking children to growing fruit and vegetables is needed. All schools should also have access to free nutritious school meals.”

Read the full paper in the World Nutrition Journal.