The high level of diet- and lifestyle-related diseases and the associated effects on nutritional and social systems make it necessary to create appropriate framework conditions through health and prevention programmes in order to create a health-promoting nutritional environment for the target groups of pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children up to the age of 10.

"Richtig essen von Anfang an!" is constantly working on developing and implementing target group-specific and habitat-orientated measures. The aim is to achieve sustainable and equitable health promotion through the measures developed.

Below you will find information on the recommendations for action and catalogues of measures developed, which serve as the basis for these recommendations.

Measures and recommendations

Recommendations on cow's milk consumption in the first year of life" were developed together with experts in the field of infant nutrition and with the clients of the "Eat right from the start!" programme.

Prior to this, a systematic review on this topic was compiled together with the Danube University Krems and used as a basis for the recommendations.

All documents on the topic of cow's milk consumption in the first year of life developed as part of the "Eating right from the start!" programme and further information can be found at Cow's milk..

As part of the "Eat right from the start!" programme, nutritional recommendations for one- to three-year-old children were drawn up. The recommendations were developed in close consultation with experts in the field of child health and nutrition. Two versions were developed. The recommendations serve as an aid for relevant professional groups, counsellors and multipliers. Scientific background information on the recommendations is summarised in the basic literature report on the nutrition of one- to three-year-old children. For the families themselves, the recommendations have been summarised in the form of a brochure "Jetzt ess ich mit den Großen! - Eating right for one to three-year-olds".

The portion sizes of individual foods are clearly illustrated in the document "Practical implementation of portion sizes for the food-based recommendations for one to three-year-olds". The "Overview chart for early childhood nutrition" provides an overview of the food-based nutritional recommendations (including the number of portions per food group) for one- to three-year-old children.

Further information can be found at Austrian nutritional recommendations for one- to three-year-old children.

Building on the nutritional recommendations for 1 to 3-year-old children, nutritional recommendations for 4 to 10-year-old children were also drawn up as part of the programme. International recommendations were taken into account when developing the recommendations. In addition, the recommendations were agreed with experts in the field of child health and nutrition. These recommendations are aimed at professionals working in the field of child nutrition. A brochure for families is currently being developed.

Further information can be found in the Austrian nutritional recommendations for children aged 4 to 10 years..

Workshops on "Nutrition during pregnancy and breastfeeding", "Nutrition for children in the first year of life" and "Nutrition for one- to three-year-old children".

Throughout Austria, (expectant) parents and relatives receive practical tips and assistance as well as the latest scientific findings on the above-mentioned topics in the form of free workshops.

Current dates, information and downloads for the workshop series throughout Austria can be found in the section Workshops.

In Austria, pregnant women or mothers/parents often receive free "mother and child boxes" after giving birth. These are gifts in various forms (box, bag, envelope, rucksack, etc.) that contain product samples, advertising and/or information material.

As part of the programme, we carried out a market survey of the "mother and child boxes" offered in Austria in 2015. On the basis of this, a List on undesirable content and adopted by the National Nutrition Commission (NEK) on 11 November 2015.

The assessment is based on the protection of pregnant women and newborn babies and the promotion of breastfeeding. These criteria are based on the "Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding" developed by the WHO and UNICEF and the provisions of the "International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes" (WHO Code).

The list specifies what should not be included in such boxes, e.g. product samples or advertising for infant milks, baby bottles or soothers, as these can have a negative impact on breastfeeding behaviour and breastfeeding success. Samples and adverts for food supplements and alcoholic drinks (even if these are explicitly advertised for the father) are also regarded as unsuitable content.

The overview of undesirable contents in mother-child boxes serves as an aid for companies and institutions that commission or produce "mother-child boxes", as well as for distribution centres.

A new market survey will be carried out in 2017/2018 to identify any changes in box content since the publication of the NEK recommendation "Undesirable content in mother and child boxes".

In a direct comparison with the results of the 2015 survey, prior to the publication of the NEK recommendation "Undesirable contents in mother-and-child boxes", no differences in the contents of the boxes can be identified. There is still room for improvement. Experts are now called upon to support the correct filling of "mother and child boxes". You can find the detailed results report
Experts are now called upon to support the correct filling of "mother-child boxes".
You can find the detailed results report here

In addition to drawing up national complementary food recommendations for Austria, an evaluation of the labelling of complementary food products was carried out as part of the "Richtig essen von Anfang an!

Further information can be found at Evaluation of the labelling of complementary foods.

In order to accurately record the catering situation with a focus on lunch at Austrian kindergartens for the first time, "Richtig essen von Anfang an!" carried out a nationwide telephone survey. The results of the survey are intended to provide decision-makers, implementers and operators with an informative basis for decisions or assistance with questions relating to kindergarten catering.

Further information can be found at Survey on the catering situation in Austrian kindergartens.

The recommendations, first published in 2010, were revised on the basis of the current scientific data situation, subsequently further processed in the Working Group on Infants, Pregnant Women and Breastfeeding (AG KISS) of the National Nutrition Commission (NEK) and then subjected to an expert consultation (Nutrition and Child Health Division). After further processing in the KISS working group, the updated version of the "Austrian Complementary Food Recommendations" was adopted by the NEK on 26 January 2022.

The updated Austrian complementary food recommendations were developed together with Austrian experts in the field of child health and nutrition. Two versions were developed. The expert version serves as an aid for relevant professional groups, counsellors and multipliers. For the families themselves, the complementary food recommendations were presented in the form of the brochure "Richtig essen von Anfang an! - Baby's first spoonful". In order to better reach families with a migration background, the brochure was also published in Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian-German and Turkish-German.

As additional illustrative aids, a maturity table was also developed, which illustrates the introduction of complementary foods based on the developmental stages of the infant, the information graphic "Infant nutrition in the first year of life" (also available in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian and Turkish) and the poster "Baby's first spoonful".

Further information can be found at Austrian complementary food recommendations.

Catalogue of measures for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children up to the age of 3

Based on national and international "models of good practice", a catalogue of measures for sustainable health promotion for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children up to the age of 3 was developed for Austria. The aim is to promote effective methods such as nutritional information, nutritional education, training for consumers and multipliers and to create customised options for action.

This catalogue of measures forms part of the programme's overall document and was compiled to provide experts working in health promotion and relevant professions with an overview of ways to improve the health situation of the programme's target group. The "Eat right from the start!" programme aims to make a contribution to coordinated health promotion for the target group of pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and young children. During the preparation of the catalogue of measures - drawn up between February and October 2008 - the current national and international situation was first determined (basic literature report and analysis of the current situation). Subsequently, measures were formulated on the basis of important strategy papers (WHO, EU, etc.) and expert discussions and backed up with concrete recommendations for action and models of good practice.

Measures that are currently being implemented:

Field of action 1: "Increase fruit and vegetable consumption in all three target groups and promote healthy eating"

  • Measure to improve nutritional knowledge and behaviour

Field of action 2: "Promoting breastfeeding"

  • Establishment of a breastfeeding coordinator
  • Measures to promote the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative
  • Training events for healthcare professionals in maternity wards
  • Breastfeeding workshops in parent-child centres
  • National monitoring of breastfeeding behaviour

Field of action 3: "Children's food and food supply"

Field of action 4: "Early Childhood Interventions"

  • Measures to promote local structures (e.g. parent-child centres, parent advice centres, breastfeeding centres, cultural centres
  • Transmission of targeted, needs-based, standardised information
  • Reducing the premature birth rate through nutritional intervention

Field of action 5: "Multiplier training and education"

  • Formulation of standards in the area of nutrition training for various professional groups
  • Providing multipliers with guidelines and high-quality information
  • Targeted training of multipliers

This is where the projects that have already been Measures und Needs analyses explained in more detail.

Catalogue of measures for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children up to the age of 3

Catalogue of measures "Nutrition for children aged four to ten"

As part of the "Eat right from the start!" programme, a catalogue of measures for the nutrition of children aged four to ten was developed. The catalogue of measures was drawn up in 2015 in cooperation with the Fonds Gesundes Österreich (FGÖ).

Comprehensive national and international research was carried out to develop the catalogue of measures. The researched projects/programmes were then evaluated on the basis of defined criteria and assigned to fields of action and measures.

The catalogue of measures contains an overview of national and international "Models of Good Practice" as well as projects/programmes with original concepts or implementation details ("Models of Promising Practice") for four to ten-year-old children. Effective ways of promoting health for four to ten-year-olds and their families are presented. Furthermore, options for action for Austria were identified and derived.

Catalogue of nutrition measures for 4 to 10-year-olds

Detailed catalogue of measures "Nutrition for children aged four to ten"

The detailed catalogue of measures is a collection of best practice models for nutrition for children aged four to ten. The characteristics and success factors of the models are described and recommendations regarding the implementation of interventions are summarised.

In order to support a holistic approach to creating health-promoting environments for the target group, the detailed catalogue of measures presents possible approaches where there is still a need for action in Austria to optimally reach the target group. Particular attention was paid to interventions focussing on socially disadvantaged families and families with a migration background, and access to these population groups was explicitly identified.

The catalogue of detailed measures thus provides guidance for people from science, practice and politics who deal with the topics of health, health promotion and, above all, the target group of children aged four to ten. In particular, all operators of contact points for children aged four to ten and their families in federal states, cities, municipalities and regions are also addressed. Furthermore, the catalogue of detailed measures can serve as support for project operators and stakeholders for their own planning of regional measures.

The detailed catalogue of measures was developed as part of the "Eat right from the start!" programme in cooperation with the Fonds Gesundes Österreich (FGÖ).

Detailed catalogue of nutritional measures for 4 to 10-year-olds