This is how much our children should be eating after research claims most are overfed

Parents are putting their young children at risk of obesity by giving them too much food, leading health and nutrition experts have warned.

A survey of 1,000 British mums and dads revealed that 79% routinely offered their pre-school aged children meal portions bigger than the recommended size.

It also found that more than 10% of parents usually serve their child close to an adult-size portion on popular meals such as spaghetti Bolognese.
Food being used as a ‘pacifier’

There was also a tendency for parents to use food or drink between meals as a “pacifier”, with 36% of parents using this method to calm children down when they are upset.

Just a quarter of parents said they were “very confident” about the amount of food to give to their child, and younger parents aged 18-24 years old were significantly less confident than older parents.