Do children really need chocolate baby formula?

Should parents use chocolate milk to bribe toddlers to eat their vegetables? Mead Johnson’s chocolate-flavored “Toddler Formula” has received a decidedly mixed reaction from blogging moms, ranging from outrage to gratitude.

Here’s a comment from nutritionist Marion Nestle:

But really, aren’t you worried that your baby might be suffering from a chocolate deficit problem? Don’t you love the idea of year-old infants drinking sugar-sweetened chocolate milk? And laced with “omega-3s for brain development, 25 nutrients for healthy growth, and prebiotics to support the immune system”? What’s next, genetically modifying moms to produce chocolate breast milk?

Obesity begins before the age of two

Almost one third of children in the US over the age of two are already overweight or obese. For low-income children the statistics are even worse. Michelle Obama is promoting her admirable Let’s Move Campaign. It advocates better product labeling, improved nutrition in school lunches, more opportunities for children to be physically active, and better access to high-quality food in all neighborhoods. Unfortunately that won’t be enough.

Studies show that attempts to modify behavior and nutrition, whether at school or in the home, have very limited success in preventing weight gain in children. The New England Journal of Medicine reports (emphasis added):

At as early as 3 years of age, obese children have elevated levels of inflammatory markers that have been linked to heart disease that is manifested later in life. To be a truly comprehensive and successful program … the Let’s Move Campaign must stimulate prevention efforts targeting the youngest Americans – those under 2 years of age and pre-schoolers. Indeed, prevention must start as early as possible, since school-age children already have an unacceptably high prevalence of obesity and associated medical conditions.

”They just want to eat bread and crackers”

Any adult who’s gone cold turkey on sugar can testify to the cravings and withdrawal symptoms that result. Although not technically defined as an addictive substance, sugar affects pleasure-producing chemicals — opioids and dopamine — in the brain.

Addressing the issue of a chocolate-flavored toddler formula, the American Academy of Pediatrics comments: “Feeding a toddler sweets at that age … will fuel the child’s interest in eating more sweets and diminish their interest in nutritious foods.”

Jill Houk, who observes the eating habits of children through the Healthy Schools Campaign, says: “They just want to eat bread and crackers. … They want to eat fruit or anything sweet. … [Using the chocolate toddler formula] may seem like ‘I just want to get nutrition in this child.’ But in reality, you’re creating a very bad situation.”

UPDATE 6/10/2010:
Mead Johnson to stop making chocolate drink for toddlers (Los Angeles Times))

Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. said Wednesday that it would stop production of a chocolate-flavored toddler formula that has garnered outrage across the mommy blogosphere by parents who said it would contribute to the epidemic of childhood obesity.

UPDATE 6/11/2010:
Mead Johnson Finds There Are Limits to Nutritionally Reckless Marketing, After All (Bnet)

Nice commentary/analysis from a business point of view:

In a world where there are Chocolate Cheerios, Froot Loops with fiber and Pop-Tarts proclaiming they are “made with real fruit,” it’s hard to image that food companies could actually commit an unforgivable sin when it comes to the marketing of sugary, less-than-healthy foods. But Mead Johnson’s (MJN) decision to stop selling its heavily-criticized chocolate-flavored toddler formula reveals that there is, in fact, a line that is not to be crossed. … Mead Johnson’s error lies in the faulty assumption that children are the same thing as toddlers. … The company … has gotten into hot water over its aggressive marketing more than a few times before. … The other mistake Mead Johnson made was choosing chocolate, which is a nutritional no-no, at least when it comes to the chocolate that kids eat.

Resources:

Photo: Popular Science

Marion Nestle, Chocolate Baby Formula: From Cradle to Grave?, The Atlantic, April 29, 2010

Julie Wernau, Flavored Toddler Formula Criticized, Los Angeles Times, May 6, 2010

K. Campbell et al., Interventions for preventing obesity in childhood. A systematic review, The International Association for the Study of Obesity, 2001 (PDF)

Janet M. Wojcicki and Melvin B. Heyman, Let’s Move — Childhood Obesity Prevention from Pregnancy and Infancy Onward, The New England Journal of Medicine, April 14, 2010 (abstract only)