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Published on: July 29, 2020
Dietary variety increases as a function of time and influences diet quality in children
Grace A Falciglia1, Ann G Troyer, Sarah C Couch
1Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267-0394, USA. grace.falciglia@uc.edu
Objective:
To investigate the changes in dietary variety over time in children and to determine the relationship between dietary variety and diet quality.
Design:
Dietary data were collected from fourth and fifth grade students for 14 consecutive days by a registered dietitian.
Setting:
Colerain School District of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Participants:
There were 33 children involved in the study.
Main Outcome Measures:
Two cumulative dietary variety scores were estimated. The first was based on the Food Guide Pyramid groups: grain, fruit, vegetable, dairy, and meat (GFVDM). The second was based on the groups highlighted by the 2000 Dietary Guidelines for variety: grain, fruit, and vegetable (GFV). Diets were analyzed for energy and nutrient content.
Analysis:
Analysis of variance and Pearson correlation coefficients.
Results:
Dietary variety increased over time up to 14 days. A significant difference (P <.0001) was found for the cumulative GFVDM and GFV variety scores on days 3, 7, and 14. Positive correlations were found between the GFVDM and GFV variety scores and vitamin C and fiber.
Conclusions And Implications:
This study suggests that a 2-week period is necessary to capture food variety in children. Some associations were found between dietary variety and diet quality. New tools are needed to measure dietary variety in children.
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