Eating Healthy, Growing Healthy

Proper nutrition during the first 1000 days of life is recognized as essential for children’s development. In Poland, however, toddlers’ diets were often not well balanced, contributing to long-term health risks. Evidence from nursery school studies highlights the extent of these imbalances: meals frequently provided around 20% more calories than recommended, with protein intake reaching up to twice the recommended levels, while fat intake remained insufficient and carbohydrate intake excessive.  

In addition, children’s diets were also deficient in key nutrients such as certain healthy fats, vitamin D and potassium, while being excessively high in sodium. These dietary patterns are linked to health problems like obesity and iron deficiency, and partly reflect gaps in knowledge of early childhood nutrition among Polish parents and daycare center professionals. 

In 2014, the “Eating Healthy, Growing Healthy” program was launched with the support of the Danone Ecosystem Fund, the Comenius Foundation for Child Development, the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, the Institute of Mother and Child, Academic Business Incubators and the NUTRICIA Foundation. The program offered Ministry of Health–accredited training to young graduate nutritionists, enabling them to work as educators specialized in early childhood nutrition. As independent professionals and members of a network, they supported the development of age-appropriate menus in daycare centers and kindergartens, trained staff, and raised awareness among parents about proper early childhood nutrition.