“Baby” Food Pouches and Their Use in 1–3.9-Year-Old New Zealand Children
Baby food pouches are becoming an increasingly popular way to assist the transition from breast milk or infant formula to solid foods, both in New Zealand (NZ) and worldwide. These pouches have overtaken the market in NZ supermarkets, with 63.9% of total baby foods sold in 2021 being in pouch form....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-03-01
|
| Series: | Medical Sciences Forum |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9992/18/1/20 |
| _version_ | 1797379870925258752 |
|---|---|
| author | Bailey Bruckner Anne-Louise Heath Pamela von Hurst Cathryn Conlon Kathryn Beck Lisa Te Morenga Jillian Haszard Ridvan Firestone Jenny McArthur Rosario Jupiterwala Kimberley Brown Maria Casale Louise Fangupo Rachael Taylor |
| author_facet | Bailey Bruckner Anne-Louise Heath Pamela von Hurst Cathryn Conlon Kathryn Beck Lisa Te Morenga Jillian Haszard Ridvan Firestone Jenny McArthur Rosario Jupiterwala Kimberley Brown Maria Casale Louise Fangupo Rachael Taylor |
| author_sort | Bailey Bruckner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Baby food pouches are becoming an increasingly popular way to assist the transition from breast milk or infant formula to solid foods, both in New Zealand (NZ) and worldwide. These pouches have overtaken the market in NZ supermarkets, with 63.9% of total baby foods sold in 2021 being in pouch form. While most pouches are aimed at infants, some are pitched to an older age group, and it is possible that some toddlers and preschoolers continue to consume baby food pouches well beyond 12 months of age. Despite concerns raised by a number of health agencies, there has been almost no research undertaken on the use of “baby” food pouches by children, and related health effects. Therefore, this study aims to describe how “baby” food pouches are being used by young children in NZ. In Young Foods NZ, an observational cross-sectional study, 287 participants with children aged 1–3.9 years completed a feeding questionnaire about the child’s “baby” food pouch consumption including frequency, method of use, and setting. The majority (85.4%) of children had used a pouch at some time in their life; however, only 11.1% were current ‘frequent’ pouch users (i.e., used baby food pouches five or more times a week). Sixty-five percent of pouch users always consumed the contents by sucking straight from the nozzle. Chair (22.8%), highchair (25.7%), and while “on the go” (23.1%) were the most common locations where pouches were consumed. Overall, while most young children had tried a “baby” food pouch at some point in their life, relatively few were considered frequent pouch users. These findings suggest pouches are not contributing substantially to most young NZ children’s diets. However, over half of pouch users sucked the contents directly from the nozzle, and this may have implications for dental health and oral motor skill development. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:29:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bdd88a62bad4445ca145523ac475ab5a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-9992 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:29:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medical Sciences Forum |
| spelling | doaj.art-bdd88a62bad4445ca145523ac475ab5a2023-12-22T14:28:34ZengMDPI AGMedical Sciences Forum2673-99922023-03-011812010.3390/msf2023018020“Baby” Food Pouches and Their Use in 1–3.9-Year-Old New Zealand ChildrenBailey Bruckner0Anne-Louise Heath1Pamela von Hurst2Cathryn Conlon3Kathryn Beck4Lisa Te Morenga5Jillian Haszard6Ridvan Firestone7Jenny McArthur8Rosario Jupiterwala9Kimberley Brown10Maria Casale11Louise Fangupo12Rachael Taylor13Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New ZealandDepartment of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New ZealandSchool of Sport Exercise and Nutrition, Massey University, Auckland 0745, New ZealandSchool of Sport Exercise and Nutrition, Massey University, Auckland 0745, New ZealandSchool of Sport Exercise and Nutrition, Massey University, Auckland 0745, New ZealandResearch Centre for Hauora and Health, Massey University, Wellington 6140, New ZealandBiostatistics Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New ZealandResearch Centre for Hauora and Health, Massey University, Wellington 6140, New ZealandDepartment of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New ZealandSchool of Sport Exercise and Nutrition, Massey University, Auckland 0745, New ZealandSchool of Sport Exercise and Nutrition, Massey University, Auckland 0745, New ZealandSchool of Sport Exercise and Nutrition, Massey University, Auckland 0745, New ZealandDepartment of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New ZealandDepartment of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New ZealandBaby food pouches are becoming an increasingly popular way to assist the transition from breast milk or infant formula to solid foods, both in New Zealand (NZ) and worldwide. These pouches have overtaken the market in NZ supermarkets, with 63.9% of total baby foods sold in 2021 being in pouch form. While most pouches are aimed at infants, some are pitched to an older age group, and it is possible that some toddlers and preschoolers continue to consume baby food pouches well beyond 12 months of age. Despite concerns raised by a number of health agencies, there has been almost no research undertaken on the use of “baby” food pouches by children, and related health effects. Therefore, this study aims to describe how “baby” food pouches are being used by young children in NZ. In Young Foods NZ, an observational cross-sectional study, 287 participants with children aged 1–3.9 years completed a feeding questionnaire about the child’s “baby” food pouch consumption including frequency, method of use, and setting. The majority (85.4%) of children had used a pouch at some time in their life; however, only 11.1% were current ‘frequent’ pouch users (i.e., used baby food pouches five or more times a week). Sixty-five percent of pouch users always consumed the contents by sucking straight from the nozzle. Chair (22.8%), highchair (25.7%), and while “on the go” (23.1%) were the most common locations where pouches were consumed. Overall, while most young children had tried a “baby” food pouch at some point in their life, relatively few were considered frequent pouch users. These findings suggest pouches are not contributing substantially to most young NZ children’s diets. However, over half of pouch users sucked the contents directly from the nozzle, and this may have implications for dental health and oral motor skill development.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9992/18/1/20food pouchestoddlerspre-school childrencommercial infant food |
| spellingShingle | Bailey Bruckner Anne-Louise Heath Pamela von Hurst Cathryn Conlon Kathryn Beck Lisa Te Morenga Jillian Haszard Ridvan Firestone Jenny McArthur Rosario Jupiterwala Kimberley Brown Maria Casale Louise Fangupo Rachael Taylor “Baby” Food Pouches and Their Use in 1–3.9-Year-Old New Zealand Children Medical Sciences Forum food pouches toddlers pre-school children commercial infant food |
| title | “Baby” Food Pouches and Their Use in 1–3.9-Year-Old New Zealand Children |
| title_full | “Baby” Food Pouches and Their Use in 1–3.9-Year-Old New Zealand Children |
| title_fullStr | “Baby” Food Pouches and Their Use in 1–3.9-Year-Old New Zealand Children |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Baby” Food Pouches and Their Use in 1–3.9-Year-Old New Zealand Children |
| title_short | “Baby” Food Pouches and Their Use in 1–3.9-Year-Old New Zealand Children |
| title_sort | baby food pouches and their use in 1 3 9 year old new zealand children |
| topic | food pouches toddlers pre-school children commercial infant food |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-9992/18/1/20 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT baileybruckner babyfoodpouchesandtheirusein139yearoldnewzealandchildren AT annelouiseheath babyfoodpouchesandtheirusein139yearoldnewzealandchildren AT pamelavonhurst babyfoodpouchesandtheirusein139yearoldnewzealandchildren AT cathrynconlon babyfoodpouchesandtheirusein139yearoldnewzealandchildren AT kathrynbeck babyfoodpouchesandtheirusein139yearoldnewzealandchildren AT lisatemorenga babyfoodpouchesandtheirusein139yearoldnewzealandchildren AT jillianhaszard babyfoodpouchesandtheirusein139yearoldnewzealandchildren AT ridvanfirestone babyfoodpouchesandtheirusein139yearoldnewzealandchildren AT jennymcarthur babyfoodpouchesandtheirusein139yearoldnewzealandchildren AT rosariojupiterwala babyfoodpouchesandtheirusein139yearoldnewzealandchildren AT kimberleybrown babyfoodpouchesandtheirusein139yearoldnewzealandchildren AT mariacasale babyfoodpouchesandtheirusein139yearoldnewzealandchildren AT louisefangupo babyfoodpouchesandtheirusein139yearoldnewzealandchildren AT rachaeltaylor babyfoodpouchesandtheirusein139yearoldnewzealandchildren |