Muesli belt malnutrition

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Muesli belt malnutrition is a term coined by Professor Vincent Marks, [1] [2] author of the book Panic Nation , [3] to describe the supposed phenomenon that parents feeding their children what is seen as an "extremely healthy" diet (the term muesli is possibly derisively used here as an exemplar of healthy food) could be depriving their children of essential fats. [4] [5] [6]

A study carried out at Bristol University examining the diets of British toddlers found that such fears were overstated. The study found that while children in the lowest fat group had lower intakes of zinc and vitamin A, children in the highest fat group ingested less iron and vitamin C. Overall the children were not seriously deprived of any essential nutrients, regardless of their diets. [7]

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References

  1. Michael Van Straten (1 January 1997). Healing Foods: Nutrition for the Mind, Body and Spirit. Welcome Rain. ISBN   978-1-55670-662-2. Professor Vincent Marks at the University of Surrey coined the phrase "muesli-belt malnutrition," an accurate description of this over-zealous attitude. Serious ...
  2. Geoffrey Cannon (1988). The Politics of Food. Century. pp. 124–. ISBN   978-0-7126-1717-8. They are the forgotten children, victims of health-foodism, sufferers from muesli belt malnutrition. But now they have a saviour. The courageous Professor Vincent Marks .... There is now every chance that the neglected children of food faddism ...
  3. LeMesurier, Peter (2005). The New Age Lexicon. Hants, UK: 0 Books. p. 87. ISBN   1-903816-98-X.
  4. "Muesli-belt kids face the threat of starvation". The Independent. 9 May 1998. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  5. Geoffrey P. Webb (31 August 2012). Nutrition: Maintaining and improving health, Fourth edition. CRC Press. pp. 463–. ISBN   978-1-4441-4247-1.
  6. Jane B. Morgan; John W. T. Dickerson (4 April 2003). Nutrition in Early Life. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 245–. ISBN   978-0-470-85792-2.
  7. "No evidence of 'muesli-belt malnutrition' in British Toddlers" (Press release). Bristol University. 2002-03-12. Retrieved 2008-04-03.