Background: WHO strongly recommends reducing the intake of free sugars. The early years sets the stage for the child's later dietary habits and encouraging early healthy eating habits could be one way to prevent the onset of diet-related disease and caries. 
Aim: The aim of this study is to describe pre-school children's exposure to sugar and sweetened products and its impact at 12 months on body mass index (BMI) at 5 years of age.
Methods: A population based, longitudinal birth-cohort study of 2666 children followed from 0-5 years of age in the Halland Region, Sweden were recruited in 2007–2008. Feeding practices were obtained from parental questionnaires distributed nine times over the first five years of life and anthropometric data were collected by child health nurses.
Results: Already at the age of six months 2% of infants had started eating sweetened products. At 12 months 33% and at 18 months 75% had started eating sweetened products and this percentage increased as age increased. Candy and ice-cream were the most frequently eaten products. Few infants (54/2666) had tasted sweetened products. There was no relationship with a high BMI at five years of age. 
Conclusion: Despite being informed many times by health and dental staff most infants had eaten sweetened products before the age of 18 months. The absence of a clear relationship between sweetened products and a high BMI at five years of age calls for further studies on the potential effect of sweet products at this age on high BMI.

THE CONSUMPTION OF SUGAR AND SWEETENED PRODUCTS AMONG PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN ARE NOT CONSISTENT WITH CURRENT GUIDELINES