There are times when a mother’s intuition kicks in and we ‘just know’, but it seems taking charge over our children’s nutrition without getting an expert’s opinion first can be dangerous.

 

This is what experts are saying this week, on foot of a study into the diet and nutrition of the children of middle-class parents.

 

According to researchers, an increasing number of parents are misdiagnosing their children as being allergic to certain foods, resulting in the children suffering malnutrition over sticking rigidly to restrictive diets.

 

The study, carried out by the organisation Sense about Science, found that many middle-class parents have been cutting out major food groups, such as wheat and dairy, because they mistakenly believe their children to have intolerances.

 

Furthermore, the researchers believe that this is having negative ramifications for children with genuine allergies as, with dietary allergies now so widespread, they are no longer being viewed as serious.

 

 

This latest information comes after the publication of another report, which claimed that many people are using allergy tests that have no scientific basis or approval.

 

Commenting on the seriousness of the issue, Tracey Brown of Sense about Science said: “Particularly in middle-class areas, nurseries often talk about parents and how their children are allergic to things that their parents just don’t want them to have, like fizzy drinks.”

 

“I think we need to get a robust study about the perception of allergies and how class-based they are,” she added.

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