Background
A healthy diet in young children is crucial for optimal growth and development. However, many toddlers consume suboptimal diets, and as a result, are at a higher risk of experiencing negative health outcomes. There has been minimal progress to improving the healthiness of retail food environments for toddlers to date despite the potential and advocacy for the issue.
Objective
To gain insight into stakeholder perceptions on the healthiness of Australian retail food environments for toddlers, as well as perspectives on the options and barriers to improve their healthiness.
Methods
Qualitative, online study utilising semi-structured individual interviews with 27 key stakeholders from food industry, academia, non-government organisations, public health, and government. in Australia.
Results
Most stakeholders agreed that retail food environments for toddlers were not health promoting. Stakeholders identified that a multifaceted approach including nutrition education and strong government mandated regulation were essential to improve the healthiness of retail food environments for toddlers. Interviews also highlighted the main perceived barriers to progress, and reasons for policy inaction in this area are the power of the food industry (perceived and real), and lack of government commitment to meaningful change. Many stakeholders were concerned that child health is being undermined due to the government favouring business needs over public health.
Conclusions
According to stakeholders, toddler food environments are not health promoting. Stakeholders identified a range of strategies that can be used to improve the healthiness of toddler food environments, but advocacy efforts are being undermined due to government inaction. Stakeholders believed that strong governance is required to create equitable, sustainable healthy retail food environments for young children. Improving the healthiness of retail food environments for young children will not only reduce diet related disease across the lifespan but will help to address financial and societal costs of a poor diet.