Promotion of foods for children aged under 36 months in Kyrgyzstan

v, 58 p. ; Kyrgyzstan imports all complementary feeding products for children aged under 36 months, mainly from Eurasian Economic Union countries. The labelling and composition of 260 commercially available prepared foods (excluding breast milk substitutes) for this age group in Kyrgyzstan were assessed for compliance with the recommendations of the WHO Regional Office for Europe’s 2022 Nutrient and Promotion Profile Model and national nutritional guidance. Findings were that the same range of products is sold in store and online and a high proportion is marketed for children aged under 6 months, which contravenes WHO guidelines and negatively impacts breastfeeding and optimal infant feeding. Food labels lacked much nutritional information and many foods contained high levels of sugar and salt or included sweeteners. Since excessive sugar and salt intake early in life increases the risk of developing noncommunicable diseases later in life, Kyrgyzstan has created a regulatory framework for food marketing to improve the nutrition and health of this vulnerable population. The country relies on imported baby food products, so advocacy is urgently needed to improve their labelling and composition across the Eurasian Economic Union and the wider WHO European Region.