Is it safe to give candies, cake to toddlers below 2 years? Here’s what US Dietary guidelines advise

Among the major dietary guidelines issued by the US government, parents have been advised against giving candy, cakes and pastries to children aged below 2 years. The guidelines have also laid down benefits of only providing breast milk till the babies attain the age of six months in addition to enumerating harms of giving products with added sugar to children, news agency Associated Press reported. The Dietary guidelines were released by the government in December 2020.

Barbara Schneeman, a nutritionist at University of California, Davis told AP that every small decision of parents taken in favour of the health of their children counts in their early years. Schneeman also said that it is never too late to become conscious about the health and nutrition of the children. While the dietary guidelines laid considerable stress on the health and nutrition of the toddlers, the guidelines appeared to be pretty lax on the dietary habits of adults. The scientists advising the government on the issue had recommended that every individual aged above 2 should limit their added sugar intake to less than six percent of their total calories intake, however the actual guidelines issued by the government have kept the standard added sugar intake at 10 percent of the total calories.

In a similar vein, the advisers had asked the government to advise not more than one drink of alcohol a day for men but the government guidelines kept the number of drinks at two per day. For women, the dietary guidelines have kept the number of alcohol based drinks at one per day. The dietary guidelines are issued one in five years by the Department of Health and Agriculture Department. In addition to being an advisory for the common people, the guidelines also form the basis for determining the standard school lunches and other meals by the government authorities.