By Jim Forsyth
Texas - American infants are eating fattening foods such as hot chips and drinking soft drinks instead of milk, which may help explain the country's growing obesity problem, researchers have said.
A survey of the eating habits of 3 000 youngers aged four to 24 months found their diets were surprisingly similar to that of older children - heavy on soft drinks, sweet candy, and other junk foods, and light on vegetables and fruits.
"French fries are the most popular vegetable eaten by children 19 to 24 months old," researcher Dr Kathleen Reidy said at an American Dietetic Association conference.
"Twenty to 25 percent of these kids did not eat a single healthy vegetable on the day of the survey, and 25 to 30 percent did not eat a single fruit."
She said her research showed soft drinks were being placed into the bottles of infants as young as seven months old, and most toddlers between 19 and 24 months old consumed sweets "at least once a day".
Reidy said 10 to 15 percent of pre-schoolers between the ages of two and five are considered overweight.
The study was conducted in 2002 by Mathematica Policy Research of Princeton, New Jersey and baby food maker Gerber in conjunction with the Tufts University School of Medicine. The results are set to be published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
The findings demonstrate the need for parents to be more aware of the types of foods their children are eating, Reidy said.
"Parents are eating on the run, they're pressed for time and looking for convenience," Reidy said. "Everyone's just too busy and has just too much to do, so they're feeding their young children the same things they're eating.
"The best thing they can do is change their own diets. Be role models for their children to eat in a more healthy way," she said.