After months without seeing each other in person, that exciting September morning, Christina was reunited with her twelve and thirteen-year-old students: “They had grown up, there was a spurt in growth. Some had even gained a lot of weight”, said this Barcelona teacher. “To an extent this is normal, with physical activity being stopped due to confinement. But the mistake was not only due to lack of activity, it is clear.”
The need to establish healthy lifestyle habits from an early age is capital. That’s exactly what was reflected in the conference on Feeding Change #Educating in Health hosted by Danone on March 29. This event is organized with the aim of sharing the objectives who want to promote healthy eating promoting better child nutrition for the future.
According to Seido, it is estimated that 80% of obese teens will become obese adults.
Families and schools will play a fundamental role in reversing the statistics of one of the great current public health crises, such as child and adolescent obesity, but “the problem must be addressed holistically, and for this we need industry involvement.” ”, said Dr Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Public Health and Environment at the WHO on Childhood Obesity.
If, as this event resonates on the walls of expert voices such as the creators of Malasmadresse or Boticaria García, families should take food very seriously and, for example, involve children in the kitchen and in planned purchases, less Another important finding was: the industry is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of its messages and the social responsibility that comes with them, especially in the smallest of households.
The IFA Group offers a wide variety of fresh foods in its supermarkets and Disney has partnered with food brands such as Danone to make healthy food choices more appealing to kids.
In addition, the consumer is demanding more every day. Therefore, the food industry has been working together for some time. For example, the IFA Group some time ago decided to expand the range of new products offered in its supermarkets. And aware of its media prowess, Disney published nutritional guides that set out its internal rules for indulging in food products.
Involving kids in the kitchen or shopping are ways to encourage healthy eating.
Then came its tie-ups with food and beverage brands, such as the Font Wella Kids that spawned a limited edition of bottles, with Mickey Mouse on its label, to encourage hydration from natural mineral waters among little ones.
The case of Danone: Working with a multidisciplinary team of experts in nutrition, actively listening to the consumer, and innovating
The little ones preferred fruits or vegetables decorated with their favorite characters rather than pastries served on boring, unadorned plates. Why, then, choose between sugar or flavor, between fun or healthy? For Lia Maas, Director of Corporate Affairs at Danone Iberia, “The challenge of advertising kids is not in the channel, but in the message. Fun is part of learning; using positive advertising can help drive change that improves baby feeding.” Is.”
In this sense, Danone claims a co-regulation model that places advertising in the service of health and helps encourage healthy food consumption among the smallest of people. Not long ago, the company had already used children’s favorite characters in natural yogurts to make favors of their own choice by kids and make the palate accustomed to foods without added sugar. Now, Danone has taken another step towards healthy nutrition.
All yogurts meet WHO nutritional standards
It has done so by achieving the reformation of all its baby products according to WHO nutritional norms, which recommend limited consumption of fats and sugars in the case of dairy products. All yogurts from the Danonino, Actimel Kids and Danone Yogurt for Kids brands already comply with these complexes: specifically, a total of 10 grams of sugar for every 100 grams of product, retaining the same flavor that little ones give with artificial sweeteners. Prefer without pairing.
This has been achieved thanks to an investment of one million euros in R&D over the past five years, working with a multidisciplinary team of over 20 nutritionists for over eight years and actively listening to consumer needs. Is. However, this commitment to an increasingly healthy diet goes back a long way, as since 2014, Danone’s has reduced the added sugar in daily yogurts and fermented milk by up to 30%.
Danone offers more and more healthy and attractive options for kids
Currently, 90% of Danone’s portfolio in Spain corresponds to healthy products for daily consumption, 50% of the references available in the market are without added sugar and one in five is natural yogurt (milk, fermented and nothing else). The segment on which the company is betting. Spider-Man already said it: “With all great power (as the food industry has) comes great responsibility.”
