After a number of years of encouraging people to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, surprising research from the UK is now warning that too much fibre and too little fat for toddlers is not healthy.
Nutritionists say applying the principles of adult healthy eating to young children can lead to vitamin deficiencies and even stunted growth.
According to consultant paediatric dietician Dr. Sarah Almond, who has analysed the results of a Trading Standards study into nursery food, a diet high in fibre and low in fat, with plenty of fruit and vegetables is unsuitable for toddlers.
Dr. Almond says the expectation was that the research would show nurseries were serving children food that was too high in calories, fat, saturated fat and salt, and low in vegetables and fruit.
But in fact the opposite was true and the majority of nurseries had gone to the other extreme and appeared to be providing food that was too low in calories, fat and saturated fat and too high in fruit and vegetables.
She says such a regime puts children at risk of developing nutritional deficiencies.
The research also revealed that most nurseries were serving children portions which were too small and very few provided them with meals containing enough calories.
Dr. Almond says the under-five age group has different and specific nutritional requirements to children of school age because they have a high energy and nutrient requirement.
They also have small stomachs and relatively under-developed guts and cannot consume large quantities of food at a time but need frequent small meals and snacks throughout the day.