A recently published journal article by researchers at the University of Aberdeen (Sharon Carstairs, Dr Leone Craig and Dr Kirsty Kiezebrink) and University of Warwick (Dr Debbi Marais) has received local and national media interest. The article, comparing home-cooked main meal recipes from published infant and toddler cookbooks to commercial meals, has found that home-cooked recipes provide a cheaper meal option than commercial. However, providing 6-77% greater nutrient levels further highlights that the majority of these home-cooked recipes exceed energy density and dietary fat recommendations. In comparison, the majority of commercial meals met energy density recommendations and had a greater vegetable variety per meal but often failed to meet the minimum 30% energy from dietary fats required for young children.
Sharon Carstairs (lead author and PhD student) has appeared on BBC Radio Scotland’s Kaye Adams programme whilst Dr Debbi Marais (University of Warwick) appeared on Free Radio Coventry news bulletin to discuss their findings.
These findings are part of a PhD study within HSRU, the Fish N’ Kids Study, which investigated the determinants of seafood consumption in pre-school aged children. This PhD scholarship was funded by the Seafish Authority and Interface Food and Drink Scotland.
Link to online first article:
http://adc.bmj.com/content/early/2016/06/22/archdischild-2015-310098.short?g=w_adc_ahead_tab
Links to news stories:
http://www.livescience.com/55465-homemade-baby-food-not-always-best.html
http://www.scotsman.com/news/home-cooking-for-children-isn-t-always-better-for-them-1-4181366