On 5 March 2025, Dr Cara Ruggiero and Dr Marie Spreckley from the MRC Epidemiology Unit presented evidence to the Cross-Party Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood to inform policy at Westminster. Their contributions focused on early life nutrition, responsive feeding, food insecurity, and the importance of the whole-family in preventing obesity.

About the Cross-Party Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood

The Cross-Party Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood serves as a key forum for policymakers, academics, healthcare professionals, and advocacy groups to discuss and shape policies that support children’s health and well-being. The group addresses a wide range of issues, including obesity prevention, early years nutrition, mental health, and physical activity, with the goal of driving meaningful policy changes.

The meeting on centred on what government can do to improve child nutrition. Dr Ruggiero presented on The Role of Food Insecurity and Family Systems in Early Years Nutrition: Implications for UK Programmes and Policies. The presentation highlighted the growing need for government policies that support families struggling to provide adequate and nutritious food for their children. The UK continues to face significant disparities in childhood obesity, with rates highest in areas of economic deprivation. Ensuring that policies prioritise responsive feeding guidance that is context relevant for families experiencing food security and that focuses on the whole family is critical to breaking the cycle of health inequalities.

Presenting SPROUT: A New Study on Responsive Feeding, Food Insecurity, and Family Systems in Early Childhood

During the session, Dr Ruggiero (Principal Investigator) and Dr Spreckley (Co-Investigator) introduced SPROUT (Supporting Parental Responsive Feeding for Optimal Understanding of Thriving Child Development), a new study that explores the relationship between food insecurity, family systems, and responsive feeding practices during the first 1000 days.

SPROUT aims to:

• Understand the experiences of parents navigating food insecurity and the barriers they face in feeding their infants.
• Explore how family systems and the home environment influence nutrition and weight outcomes in early childhood.
• Identify practical, evidence-based strategies to help parents and healthcare professionals promote responsive feeding practices—an approach that encourages recognising and responding to a child’s hunger and fullness cues.

Using qualitative focus groups with both parents and healthcare professionals from the  The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust Healthy Child Programme, SPROUT will generate insights to clinical and public health guidance and improve support for families experiencing food insecurity.

Research Driving Policy Change

The Cross-Party Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood plays an essential role in translating research into action, and the 5th March session reinforced the importance of evidence-led policymaking in tackling childhood nutrition challenges.

We extend our thanks to Sonia Kumar, MP, and the organisers for hosting this vital discussion. The MRC Epidemiology Unit continues to advanced research that improves child nutrition, reduces food insecurity, and supports whole-family approaches during the critical early years of development.