A new study has found that majority of the baby foods sold in US were unhealthy. About 60 percent of infant and toddler foods found in US markets did not meet the required nutritional standards set by World Health Organization (WHO), according to a team of researchers from the George Institute for Global Health in Australia.
The research published in the scientific journal Nutrients, thoroughly studied data on 651 infant and toddler food products sold in ten main US grocery chains and found that 70 percent of the products did not meet the necessary protein requirements and  44 percent of the baby foods were high in sugar.
Also, one in four products failed to meet the necessary calorie requirements and one in five products crossed the sodium limits.
7% Meet Recommended Sugar Levels
Amongst all baby food products, baby food pouches were found to be highly popular among parents. Concerning part was that most of them were unhealthy with only 7 percent meeting the required recommendations related to sugar levels.
Most importantly, the research also helped expose certain wrong marketing practices adopted by companies to sell their products. Most of them used a prohibited claim on the packaging and thus misleading their customers. It was shocking to find that about 99.4 percent of the baby products included at least one prohibited claim on their packaging like 'non genetically modified (GM),' 'organic,' 'no BPA' and 'no artificial colors or flavors.
Through these misleading claims these baby products have succeeded in creating a "health halo" around them, according to Dr Daisy Coyle, Research Fellow and Dietitian at The George Institute."The lack of regulation in this area leaves the door wide open for the food industry to deceive busy parents," she said. 
"We saw this not only in the use of misleading claims but also in the use of misleading names, where the product name did not reflect the main ingredients found on the ingredient list."
"For example, snack and finger foods often referred to fruit or vegetables in the product name, despite primarily being made of flour or other starches," she added later. Researchers found the raising popularity of baby foods in US as 'concerning' as they can pose severe health risks to the young generation.
"Early childhood is a crucial period of rapid growth and when taste preferences and dietary habits form, potentially paving the way for the development of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and some cancers later in life," Dr Elizabeth Dunford, Research Fellow at The George Institute and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition at the University of North Carolina, said in a statement.
Busy Parents Choose Convenience Foods
"Time-poor parents are increasingly choosing convenience foods, unaware that many of these products lack key nutrients needed for their child's development and tricked into believing they are healthier than they really are," she added later. One in five children in the US is affected by obesity.
According to a report released by CDC, 19.7 percent of children were obese from 2017 to 2020. While stating that the prevalence of obesity among small children in US, aged between two and five, has gone up considerably since 1970, with about 13 percent of preschool children being obese, researchers urged to address the issue as early as possible.
"Our findings highlight the urgent need for better regulation and guidance in the infant and toddler foods market in the United States - the health of future generations depends on it," Dr Dunford said. Safety of baby foods has always been a major concern in US with several reports in the past highlighting the presence of heavy metals like lead, cadmium in most of the popular baby foods sold in US.