The nutritional recommendations for one- to three-year-old children were developed as part of the "Eat right from the start!" programme - as a measure of the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, financed by the Federal Health Agency's prevention funds. The aim of developing and implementing nutritional recommendations for this target group is to promote health, as a healthy start in life has a positive effect well into adulthood.
Scientific process
Together with experts, agreed recommendations for children aged one to three years were drawn up in a transparent process, thus making a further important contribution to improving the health situation of the Austrian population. As part of the development of the recommendations, an expert consultation was therefore initiated at the end of 2012. The aim of the consultation was to incorporate theoretical and practical knowledge with a scientific background from experts into the process.
The nutritional recommendations for children aged one to three years (see download below) are based on scientific information and are intended to contribute to clear and structured nutritional communication. Proper nutrition has health-promoting and preventive potential that has a positive impact on life as a whole. The critical time window for improving the nutrition of young children begins with pregnancy and lasts until the age of two. Nutritional deficits acquired during this period are difficult to make up for later in life. Toddlers need nutritional recommendations tailored to their specific needs. If desired, the child can continue to be breastfed.
Individual development process
The time between the second and fifth year of life and the degree of changes in nutrition are flexibly orientated to the developmental stage. The developmental processes (including motor skills) vary from child to child and are highly individualised. For this reason, nutritional recommendations aimed at the adult population are only of limited suitability for this age group.
The preparation of this recommendation was funded by the Federal Health Agency as part of the Austria-wide preventive nutrition strategy and adopted in its present form by the National Nutrition Commission at its plenary meeting on 9 September 2014.
Scientific background information on the recommendations can be found in the "Basic literature report - Nutrition for one- to three-year-old children" (see download below).
