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Toddlers in the UK are the fussiest eaters in Europe, claims new research

The first ever European Toddler Nutrition Index, commissioned by GrowingUpMilkInfo.com, examined the attitudes to diet and food of over 2,500 mothers with toddlers in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Italy.

It found that more than a quarter (26 per cent) of UK toddlers refuse meals at least once a day, compared to just one in seven (15 per cent) French toddlers.

One in ten mothers in the UK think they are bad parents when their child refuses food, compared to only 3 per cent of Dutch mothers.

The European Nutrition Index also found that UK parents are the most likely of the European countries to reward children with junk food for ‘eating well’ or good behaviour, with four in ten British mothers giving their child sweets, biscuits, fizzy drinks and chocolate.

Toddlers in the UK and the Netherlands are also least likely to get one home cooked meal a day, compared to children in Italy, Spain and Germany.

Only 22 per cent of UK mothers expressed worry about their toddler being or becoming overweight or obese, compared with 68 per cent of mothers in Italy and 72 per cent in Spain.

One in five mothers in the UK were also unaware whether or not their child is overweight, compared to 97 per cent of Spanish mothers.

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