Sugar Bureau contributes to food and health research
and health, with new research recommending that parents should
not offer their children high-energy foods as rewards and
treats as a means of encouraging the consumption of something else,
a claim that, on first glance, appears to challenge the interests
of the sponsors.
The new research, published in the International Journal of Obesity (Vol. 28, pp. 858-869), looks at the role of parents in the development of food preferences in children, an in particular fussy eaters - a updated review that is valuable.
One of the key findings was for parents to not offer energy-rich treats, which include high-sugar and high-fat products, as a way of persuading their child to eat their greens or other distasteful food.
"Offering desserts as a reward for eating greens, or some other distasteful food, makes the reward food more desirable to your child and the food you are trying to encourage them to eat, less desirable. This makes encouraging your child to eat a healthy balanced diet even more difficult," wrote reviewer, Professor David Benton from the University of Wales Swansea.
Indeed Professor Benton recommended again using high-energy foods as rewards or treats for eating their greens.
Dr. Richard Cottrell, director of the Sugar Bureau told FoodNavigator.com that this review was in line with the bureau's research initiatives of improving knowledge in food, nutrition and health.
"The results of the research are published in full, regardless of the outcomes and findings," he said.
But he was keen to stress that, in the bureau's view, fussy eating should not automatically be linked to obesity.
He claimed that fussy eaters are usually associated with underweight children, and that questions about the causes and consequences of obesity still remain unanswered.
The food industry is under a great deal of pressure to deal with obesity. At the recent Paris Anti-Obesity Therapies congress, scientists leading the research into obesity called for the food industry to accept their social responsibilities and join them in the search for a solution.
But Dr. Cottrell said that "when it comes to solutions, the evidence is unclear as to the role of food habits and physical inactivity.
"The food industry can reasonably be expected to provide consumers with a range of food products and information about those products so that the consumer may choose a diet that is appropriate to them. It is clearly impossible for the food industry to dictate what people should eat," he said.
Nonetheless, the Sugar Bureau is clearly seeking an active role in research into obesity. Dr. Cottrell told FoodNavigator.com that the Bureau "has an ongoing programme of information for health professionals, journalists and the public on a range of issues relevant to healthy eating and lifestyles, including the obesity issue."
The Sugar Bureau is the trade association for the UK sugar industry, and is funded principally by British Sugar and Tate and Lyle.
