UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health

Using data from Baby Food FACTS, this infographic depicts total advertising spending in 2015 and the proportion of total advertising dollars spent on certain types of products.

Using data from the Rudd Center’s Baby Food FACTS report, this infographic shows common marketing messages on baby & toddler snacks and reveals the real ingredients in these products.

Baby Food FACTS from the UConn Rudd Center examines the products and marketing of food and drinks for children younger than age 3. This infographic depicts ad spending for toddler drinks on Spanish language television in 2015, as well as the amount of added sweeteners in popular products.

Birth to two years is a critical period for developing healthy eating habits and preventing childhood obesity. Baby Food FACTS provides a comprehensive analysis of the nutritional content of food and drink products marketed to parents for their babies and toddlers (up to age 3), the messages used to promote these products, and how well the marketing messages correspond with expert advice about feeding young children.

Marketing for baby and toddler food and drinks often contradicts the advice of health professionals, using messages that may lead parents to believe that these commercial products are healthier alternatives to breastmilk or homemade food, according to a new study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut.

The healthfulness of food and beverage purchases by participants in the federal Women, Infants, and Children food assistance program (WIC) increased after revisions in 2009 that were designed to improve the nutrition of low-income pregnant women, new mothers and their young children, according to a new study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut.

Full citation: Andreyeva T, Tripp AS. The healthfulness of food and beverage purchases after the federal food package revisions: The case of two New England states. Prev Med. 2016;91:204-210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.08.018

Full citation: Longacre MR, Drake KM, Titus LJ, et al. Child-targeted TV advertising and preschoolers’ consumption of high-sugar breakfast cereals. Appetite. 2017;108:295-302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.10.014

Full citation: Schwartz MB. Incentive and Restriction in Combination-Make Food Assistance Healthier With Carrots and Sticks. JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176(11):1619-1620. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.6104

Unhealthy snack food brands such as Cheetos, Fruit-by-the-Foot and Froot Loops have reformulated their products to meet new USDA Smart Snacks nutrition standards so they can be sold to kids in schools. But these products often come in packages that look similar to the unhealthy versions of the brands that are still sold in stores and advertised widely to youth.