Nutrition experts from around the UK will converge on Knowsley tomorrow to discuss the diet of young children in nurseries.

The Targeting Early Years Nutrition  Conference* is organized by heart disease and stroke prevention charity, Heart of Mersey, in partnership with Target Wellbeing in Knowsley.

Keynote speakers include Dr Helen Crawley, director of The Caroline Walker Trust, Pamela Brunton from the Soil Association and Julie Macklin, project officer with Heart of Mersey. Julie has recently completed the Target: Wellbeing Pre-school Nursery Project which looked at nutritional provision for the under fives in nurseries in Knowsley.

Increasing numbers of children under five are spending long periods of time in childcare settings outside of their homes. Those that provide childcare are in a unique position to have a positive influence on their diet and physical activity. The choices that are made in the early years of life can also have a significant impact on the health of individuals as adults.

Research into the health and wellbeing of children shows that their daily diet raises major concerns about their current and future health. Risk factors for developing CHD begin in childhood, develop over life and worsen with age and poor diet. Yet healthy eating, regular play and physical activity are essential for growth and development. Both the types of food and healthy eating patterns children are exposed to within and outside the home should promote good health and positive attitudes to good nutrition.
ENDS

Notes to Editors
1.    There has been growing concern that children's diets contain too much sugar, salt and saturated fat and too few fruits and vegetables. In response to this, and to the increasing levels of obesity among children, there have been many changes to the ways in which food is provided in schools. But food given to younger children in pre-school settings has not been addressed. In England, currently there are no nutritionally based standards for food provided to children in day care.

2.    A survey in 2006 of 29 nurseries across Cheshire and Merseyside conducted by Heart of Mersey showed that pre-school healthy eating policies were weak, that training among nursery staff on healthy eating was not a priority and that there was a general lack of awareness of the need to reduce consumption of saturated fat. This led to a number of recommendations including the need for an accredited training course for early years / pre-school staff, responsible for food provision.

3.    The one day conference, Targeting Nutrition in Early Years, takes place on 29 April at Partnership for Learning, Halewood, Knowsley. For further information, please contact Sue West on 0151 928 7820 / 07738 649 781