A Canadian study claimed that 89 percent food products aimed specifically at children have poor nutritional content because of high levels of sugar, fat or sodium, according to media reports Tuesday.
The study used U.S. guidelines to review 367 products and found 70 percent of the products had higher than recommended sugar levels, 23 percent had high fat levels and 17 percent had high salt levels.
Even so, 62 percent of the products with poor nutritional quality made positive claims on the front of the packaging. Some of these claims included that products were low in fat, a source of calcium, contained no artificial colorings or provided a number of essential nutrients.
"We included food products and packaging that were presented in such a way that children were the clear target audience," said lead researcher Charlene Elliott from the University of Calgary, Canada. Confectionary, soft drinks and baked products were specifically excluded from the study.
"If a parent sees a product that makes specific nutritional claims, they may assume that the whole product is nutritious and our study has shown that this is definitely not true in the vast majority of cases," said Elliott.
She said that the findings are cause for concern, especially given current rates of childhood obesity worldwide.
(Xinhua/Agencies July 15, 2008)