Just when we think we've begun to get the healthy eating message swallowed, so to speak, a new British study has found children at kindergartens should be eating more cake and less fruit.

The government study found that in an effort to tackle the problem of child obesity, children were being given too much fruit and vegetables and too little starchy carbohydrates to meet their energy needs.

The problem seems to be that parents who have taken up, for the best of nutritional reasons, a low-calorie, high-fiber diet, have been putting pressure on kindergartens to provide the same for their kids. But it's not a diet suitable for under fives. 

Children burn fat faster than adults. So, for example, skimmed milk and other low-fat dairy products should be kept till they're much older.

Says paediatric dietician Jessica Williams, "Parents really shouldn't feel too anxious about puddings (desserts) - sponge and custard is a good dessert to offer, surprising as that may sound. This is a much better option than a handful of biscuits between meals." She told the BBC, "There have also been problems with the messages about red meat. It's a shame some parents feel so worried about it as it really is the best source of iron, and iron deficiency anaemia among toddlers in particular is common."

Apparently wholegrains and high-fibre dishes can fill a child up without necessarily providing the calories they need. That Kleenex white bread you frown on? It's not necessarily a no-no, specially of your kids have eaten a wholegrain cereal for breakfast.

While the five-a-day message must certainly still be there, say the researchers, a child's portion does need to be smaller so they have room for the other, more substantial items on their plates. They simply won't get the calories they need from fruit and vegetables, even in large quantities.

Bring on the cake, mom.