Better food for every child: How GenV’s data is helping make toddler food healthier

Parents want to give their children healthy food – but not all products on supermarket shelves make that easy.

As Drew, a GenV dad from Melbourne, said:
“Why are toddler food companies allowed to get away with misleading parents of babies and toddlers in this way?”

Drew once assumed that packaged foods for babies and toddlers were tightly regulated in Australia.  As he said, “If I buy these products, I feel I should be able to trust that what’s being sold to me is nutritious. It shouldn’t take a science degree to figure out what’s really in the food.”

New findings

The GenV Food Survey, run by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) in partnership with the Food for Health Alliance and co-funded by VicHealth, is the largest study of its kind in Australia. It asked more than 7,000 GenV parents about what their toddlers eat – helping researchers understand how often young children eat packaged toddler foods, and what that means for their health.

Because so many GenV families take part, researchers can answer important questions like this quickly – turning ideas into evidence in a matter of months.

The results show that 8 in 10 toddlers had eaten packaged toddler foods in the month of the survey, and that most children (9 in 10) were first introduced to these foods before their first birthday. Around 2 in 5 toddlers (43%) were eating them five or more days each week.

Many of these foods look healthy on the outside, but inside they often have too much sugar and not enough of the good stuff kids need. By bringing together data from thousands of families, GenV helps researchers and policymakers find better ways to support healthy eating early in life.

This research is helping the government work towards the first clear food standards for toddler packaged foods, so every child can grow up healthy right from the start.

Why this matters

Executive Manager of the Food for Health Alliance, Jane Martin, says GenV’s work is helping to build the evidence for change:

“Right now, there are too many products in supermarkets that look ‘wholesome’, but actually have as much sugar as gummy bears.  GenV’s data helps us make the case for this to change.”

Working together for better health

The GenV Food Survey is one of many studies made possible by GenV families across Victoria. By working together with partners like Food for Health Alliance and VicHealth, GenV helps researchers find answers faster, keep information safe, and use it to make life better for all children and families.

Together, these studies help governments and health experts understand what really supports children’s health – from what they eat, to how they grow and play.

Looking ahead

GenV’s big goal? To make sure research like this leads to real change – so every child has the best possible start.

GenV is designed as a large, inclusive research platform. This means researchers can use the same trusted set of data to explore many different questions – not only about food, but also about child and adult health, learning, family life and the environment. Because GenV reflects the real mix of families across Australia, the answers researchers find are more fair, accurate and relevant.

As GenV continues to grow, new partners will be able to work together through this shared platform. This will lead to faster discoveries and better evidence to help improve the health and wellbeing of all Australians.

Links to media:

• Media Release
• Channel 7 News
• Wall Street Journal (article behind paywall)