Children under five should be given nationally agreed meal menus when in regulated childcare to ensure they receive sufficient nutrition, according to a government-backed report.
Getting children to help lay tables, use knives and forks and behave sociably could also help cut the number of "fussy eaters" in later life, the Advisory Panel of Food and Nutrition in Early Years recommends.
The panel, established by the former Labour government, suggests a central bank of menu examples should be established to provide more detailed voluntary guidance on healthy, balanced food for babies and toddlers from the age of one until they go to school. Its report includes examples of menu plans, types of food to use and portion sizes.
The panel said there was "limited evidence" that children in nurseries, Sure Start centres or with childminders had diets with too much sugar and salt and not enough energy, fat, iron and zinc. It said some children moved between types of childcare in the day and were not always fed appropriately.
The report found that by the time children went to reception class at primary school in England more than a fifth were overweight or obese. Children generally did not eat recommended levels of fruit and vegetables, dental health was deteriorating and rickets and diabetes in children was increasing.
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