Nestle helps parents meet infants’ nutritional needs

Parents need good knowledge to ensure adequate and balanced nutrition for their kids, especially in infancy (birth to two years). During this dynamic phase which is marked by rapid development, a sufficient amount and appropriate composition of nutrients are crucial for growth and functional outcomes in terms of cognition, immune response, metabolic programming of long-termhealth, and well-being.

Given this need, the Nestlé Nutrition Institute (NNI), an organization with the goal of fostering Science for Better Nutrition, recently held the 91st International NNI Workshop in the Philippines titled “Nurturing a Healthy Generation of Children: Research Gaps and Opportunities.” With the objectives of exploring early eating behavior and taste development, and understanding what children eat, the workshop provided professionals with scientific updates as well as clinical and practical exchanges with globally recognized experts and colleagues from different countries.

Topics included emerging research on early feeding behavior, dietary intakes, and health outcomes. The most recent findings of national surveys on the nutritional intakes of children in various countries were presented at the workshop.

In the Philippines, a study by the Department of Science and Technology - Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST - FNRI) on food consumed by infants and toddlers aged 6-35 months demonstrated that the intake of fat and many micronutrients in Filipino children are markedly inadequate. The study concluded that the shortfalls in nutrient intakes can be largely explained by the fact that re- fined rice was the major source of many key nutrients, while nutrient-dense foods such as milk, fruits, and vegetables only played a little role in the diet.

Meanwhile, Prof. Andrea Maier-Nöth, managing director of Eat-Health-Pleasure GmbH in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland spoke on findings on the early development of food preferences and healthy eating habits in infants.

She explained that children have many taste buds and are born with the ability to taste, smell and discriminate among a variety of foods; and to learn to like and enjoy a variety of foods that are pleasurable and healthy.

The period between birth to two years offers a one-time opportunity to shape food preferences and habits that will have an important impact on a child’s growth and health, an opportunity that parents need to recognize and invest in.