aEvery parent wants the best for their child, so it's no wonder that infant nutrition brands prioritize the same. But there are also formulas for toddlers.
Infant milk, or infant formula, is a beverage often sold in the same product line as infant formula, and is a kind of natural drink for babies aged 9 to 12 months when they wean off traditional infant formula or breast milk. It is positioned as a nutritional supplement. However, unlike infant formula, infant formula is not regulated in the United States and does not have to meet the same nutritional standards. It has long been an open secret among child health experts that the infant formula market is overrun with deceptive marketing and less-than-healthy formulations, but as sales increase, the American Academy of Pediatrics… (AAP) has issued a formal call. Regulatory measures. Doctors groups hope the report, released Oct. 20, will at least provide further education to caregivers.
Jennifer Pomerantz, an associate professor of public health policy and management at New York University, says understanding infant formula's role in today's market means looking back at the policies that laid the foundation for its popularity. Since its invention, infant formula has been a good alternative for mothers who are unable to breastfeed, but there is no question that breast milk is better for infants, especially in terms of nutrition and immune development. ” says Pomerantz. This flaw made the formula somewhat political, but never more so than in the 1980s. For decades, mothers everywhere saw it as a viable alternative to breastfeeding. It was featured on the pages of magazines and distributed in sample bags by pediatricians. From the late 1930s to the late 1960s, the percentage of infants in the United States who were breastfed decreased from about 77% to 25%. However, the formula boom was fraught with danger, as companies did not always provide guidance on how to use the formula correctly. Over time, Pomerantz says, “infants started dying” in low-income countries and communities due to malnutrition caused by diluted or improperly prepared formula.
In 1981, the World Health Organization (WHO) intervened, banning all direct-to-consumer sales of infant formula and sales in some industries, and requiring countries to clarify nutritional labeling and the dangers of use. We have created a set of guidelines for this purpose. In response, many countries have passed legislation reflecting WHO recommendations. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had already begun stricter regulation of the product a year earlier in 1980, but no additional sales restrictions were adopted.
Faced with potential revenue losses due to marketing restrictions around the world, manufacturers have begun marketing completely different products to circumvent the currently established rules. So-called “infant milk” allowed brands to print advertising with their logos and packaging, while at the same time selling additional products on the back of public trust in infant milk.
read more: WHO says infant formula manufacturers use social media to discourage breastfeeding
The strategy worked. From 2006 to 2015, infant formula sales decreased by 7%, while infant formula sales increased by 158% and continue to grow, said University of Kentucky Associate Director of Pediatrics Clinical Affairs. says George Fuchs, author of: AAP's new report.
Fuchs and his colleagues agree that infant formula has no functional role in infant diets. Not only does infant formula lack nutritional value, but it is also avoided. Its main ingredients are powdered milk, high-calorie sweeteners and vegetable oil. A study earlier this year found that 60% of infant formulas contained excess sugar, and many were higher in sodium and lower in protein than the cow's milk that pediatricians recommend for young children. And then there's corn syrup, a common ingredient that milk should never contain. And due to lack of regulation, these products can get away with false marketing. At least one product examined in the study had a brand that suggested it was iron-fortified, but it had less iron than the FDA requires for similar brands of infant formula.
Infant formula as a whole is “just junk,” Pomerantz said. “It's unnecessary and not needed.” She previously found that 60% of caregivers believe that infant formula contains essential nutrients that children can't get anywhere else. .
“So many of them have undesirable properties that can affect health,” Fuchs says of the products. He is particularly concerned that infant formula could hijack the sensitive period of infancy, when taste preferences are programmed. There is mounting evidence that high sugar intake during infancy is a major cause of childhood obesity. It is also well documented that there is a link between early excessive sodium intake and subsequent poor cardiovascular health.
What worries experts most is that infant formula is sometimes being sold alongside or even mixed with infant formula in stores. Additionally, many packages appear to be slight variations of a trusted product. This can be very confusing, especially if parents don't know that the FDA has a special form of nutrition labeling that is used only for infant formula. Although the term “infant” occasionally appears, a variety of other terms are used interchangeably for these products, including “follow-up”, “transition”, “weaning” milk, and “growth milk”. I am. In his research, Pomerantz found that even doctors may not be able to tell the difference between these products and properly regulated infant formula.
There are many simple solutions that regulators can easily implement. AAP's proposals include requiring infant milk to be more clearly branded, banning the use of the term “powdered milk” on labels, and requiring it to be kept separate from infant milk on shelves. It will be done. Pomerantz wants all infant formulas to have a warning label stating that they are not intended for infants.
Fuchs, who has previously worked with the FDA, said actual regulatory changes from the AAP's recommendations are on the horizon, especially since Congress has described itself as “opposed to anything that puts restrictions on business.” I'm skeptical about whether it will be born in my house. But he thinks that with enough pressure from his parents and doctors, manufacturers could be persuaded to make some of these changes themselves.
