The Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) 2016: Study Design and Methods

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Nutrition
• Childhood Development
• Public Health Nutrition

Background:

• Dietary intake and feeding habits in early childhood significantly impact nutrient status during critical developmental phases.
• Understanding food consumption and feeding practices is vital for developing effective recommendations to promote healthy eating behaviors in children.
• Nutrient adequacy and potential excess during infancy, toddlerhood, and preschool years require careful monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To update knowledge on the dietary patterns and food consumption of young children in the United States.
• To gather new data on feeding behaviors, sleep, physical activity, and screen time among children under four.
• To describe the study design, data collection methodologies, and sample characteristics of the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study 2016 (FITS 2016).

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving caregivers of children under four years old across the 50 US states and Washington, DC.
• Data collection included telephone or online recruitment interviews, feeding practices questionnaires, and two 24-hour dietary recalls for a subsample.
• The study utilized telephone-administered 24-hour recalls to capture detailed dietary intake information.

Main Results:

• The study successfully recruited 4830 households, with 3248 (67%) completing the 24-hour recall.
• Respondent demographics indicated a higher proportion of white, highly educated individuals compared to the general population of adults with children under four.
• The sample data were calibrated and weighted to align with known US population distributions for enhanced representativeness.

Conclusions:

• FITS 2016 offers robust data on the food and nutrient intakes of young children, valuable for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.
• The findings provide a contemporary benchmark for evaluating childhood nutrition and can be compared with historical FITS studies.
• This study contributes essential insights for informing public health initiatives and interventions aimed at improving child nutrition.