More attention needed for healthy food and drinks for children

RIVM and CBS

On wateetnederland.nl, RIVM published a comparison between the results of the food consumption survey (2019–2021) and the recommended amounts from the Wheel of Five. CBS published a news report on the latest figures from the Health Survey/Lifestyle Monitor concerning dietary habits. In both studies, the youngest group of children up to four years old stands out positively, while teenagers stand out negatively.

Focus on children needed

The studies once again demonstrate the need to focus more on young people. Petra Verhoef, director of the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, says that much more needs to be done: “The figures are new, but the message is not. We have known for a very long time that focusing on children is essential. It is good to see that the youngest children eat relatively healthily. Many parents are very consciously engaged with this. There is also a great deal of professional support for parents during this first phase, and healthy food is often provided at childcare centres. These are areas to which the Netherlands Nutrition Centre also contributes significantly.”

However, we must not allow eating habits to deteriorate after the toddler years, Verhoef emphasises. “The older the children are, the greater the number of unhealthy temptations they encounter in their surroundings. As a parent or caregiver, you can hardly compete with this, especially if you lack certain food-related skills or have little money to spend on healthy food.”

Plenty of opportunities

The habits children learn from an early age form the foundation for their future. And we all know that eating well is important for a healthy body on a healthy planet. We also know what is needed. Politicians have more than enough starting points in the 10 golden measures, which focus heavily on children for good reason. Consider compulsory lessons about nutrition at school, free school meals, and healthy food wherever many young people gather. In addition, the Netherlands Nutrition Centre takes every opportunity to help food environments provide a healthier and more sustainable range of products and to encourage the food industry to offer healthier products.

“I will be honest: it is sometimes frustrating that things are not moving much faster. We are doing everything within our power. Fortunately, we also see that many organisations are working towards a healthy and sustainable food environment. But it does not happen automatically. We are very pleased that the government is continuing the successful School Meals Programme. If it also encourages a healthy and sustainable range of products within that programme, this will provide an excellent opportunity to help children eat well. These two new studies once again show that this is not an unnecessary luxury. Schools are precisely how you reach all children and thus increase equality of opportunity,” says Petra Verhoef.

What exactly do the figures show?

RIVM’s figures show that relatively more young children consume the recommended amounts of vegetables, fruit, bread, potatoes and grain products, legumes, and dairy. They fall slightly short only when it comes to the recommended amounts of nuts (or nut butter) and drinks. Teenagers (aged 12 to 18) obtain a relatively large proportion of their energy from products outside the Wheel of Five. They also meet the recommended amounts of bread, nuts, fish, and dairy the least compared with other age groups. For boys, this also applies to vegetables and drinks; for girls, it applies to legumes and eggs.

The CBS results support these findings. CBS uses dietary scores ranging from 0 to 10: the higher the score, the more the group in question eats in accordance with a number of important aspects of the Wheel of Five. Toddlers (aged 1–4) score 7.1. Children (aged 4–12) score half a point lower (6.6), while teenagers (aged 12–18) score below 6 (5.9). From the age of 18 onwards, the scores rise with each age group. People aged 65 and over achieve a score of 7.5. Toddlers eat sufficient vegetables and fruit in particular. Teenagers’ lower score is largely due to consuming too many snacks and sugary drinks and too little fruit.