This work is the result of a collaboration between Maria Jacobsen, Lotta Moraeus, Emma Patterson, Anna Karin Lindroos, Mattias Eriksson, Elin Röös. Together, they assessed the diets of 746 Swedish children aged 2–6, drawing on data from the Riksmaten Young Children study (2021–24). Using the Sustainability Assessment of Foods And Diets (SAFAD) tool. When we talk about sustainable food systems, the focus is often on adults and their choices. But what about children, especially the youngest among us? This study sheds light on just how significant early dietary patterns can be for the planet.

Why is this important?
This study highlights a major challenge: if even the diets of very young children are already straining the planet’s limits, achieving sustainability goals will require major changes in food production, policy, and education. For Sweden, and beyond, these findings underscore the urgent need to:

• Implement policy measures that promote sustainable school and preschool meals.
• Guide parents to strike a balance between nutrition and environmental impact.
• Reform the food system to reduce the footprint of animal products and encourage sustainable agricultural practices.

Key points

The results are alarming. On average, children’s diets exceeded or came close to planetary boundaries for five of the six key indicators. Only blue water consumption remained within the safe zone. It is important to note that no child had a diet that remained below the uncertainty thresholds for all indicators.

Who has the greatest impact?

The study also revealed certain trends in the data:

• Boys’ diets had a greater impact than girls’ diets, both in terms of total quantity and energy intake.
• Children living in rural areas and those whose parents had a lower level of education had a more environmentally intensive diet.
• Preschool or home: carbon footprints were similar. Preschool meals included less meat but more dairy products, which offset the differences.