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The associations between feeding difficulties and behaviours and dietary patterns at 2 years of age: the ALSPAC
Kate Northstone1, Pauline Emmett
1School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Insights
Understanding toddler dietary patterns is crucial for lifelong habits. Maternal education significantly influences children's diets, with higher education linked to healthier eating patterns and fewer
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Toddlerhood is a critical period for establishing lifelong dietary habits.
- Limited research exists on toddler dietary patterns and their influencing factors.
- The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) provides valuable data for this research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and characterize distinct dietary patterns in toddlers.
- To examine the associations between these dietary patterns and socio-demographic variables.
- To investigate the relationship between dietary patterns and feeding behaviors/difficulties.
Main Methods:
- Principal Component Analysis (PCA) applied to food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) data from 9599 children at 2 years of age.
- Identification of three primary dietary patterns: 'family foods', 'sweet and easy', and 'health conscious'.
- Statistical analysis to assess correlations between dietary pattern scores and socio-demographic factors, feeding behaviors, and introduction of solids.
Main Results:
- Three dietary patterns were identified: 'family foods', 'sweet and easy', and 'health conscious'.
- Maternal education was the strongest socio-demographic predictor, positively associated with 'family foods' and 'health conscious' patterns, and negatively with 'sweet and easy'.
- Late introduction of lumpy solids (after 9 months) was associated with lower scores in 'family foods' and 'health conscious' patterns.
Conclusions:
- Dietary patterns in toddlers are associated with maternal education and feeding practices.
- Early introduction to solids may promote healthier eating habits.
- Further research is needed to clarify the temporal relationships between feeding difficulties, behaviors, and dietary patterns.
Abstract:
Little is known about the dietary patterns of toddlers. This period of life is important for forming good dietary habits later in life. Using dietary data collected via food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) at 2 years of age, we examined the dietary patterns of children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Principal component analysis was performed for 9599 children and three patterns were extracted: 'family foods' associated with traditional British family foods such as meat, fish, puddings, potatoes and vegetables; 'sweet and easy' associated with foods high in sugar (sweets, chocolate, fizzy drinks, flavoured milks) and foods requiring little preparation (crisps, potatoes, baked beans, peas, soup); 'health conscious' associated with fruit, vegetables, eggs, nuts and juices. We found clear associations between dietary pattern scores and socio-demographic variables, with maternal education being the most important. Higher levels of education were associated with higher scores on both the 'family foods' and the 'health conscious' patterns, and decreased scores on the 'sweet and easy' pattern. Relationships were evident between dietary pattern scores and various feeding difficulties and behaviours. Notably, children who were introduced late to lumpy (chewy) solids (after 9 months) scored lower on both the 'family foods' and the 'health conscious' patterns. Further analyses are required to determine the temporal relationship between perceived feeding difficulties and behaviours, and it will be important to assess the contribution of the age of introduction to lumpy solids to these relationships.
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