Toddler diet quality improved significantly from 1999 to 2018: Study

There was a significant improvement in toddler diet quality from 1999 to 2018, according to a study published online Nov. 5 in Pediatrics.

Meghan Zimmer, M.P.H., from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues conducted a serial cross-sectional analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data involving 2,541 toddlers from 1999 to 2018 to examine the direction and magnitude of toddler diet quality trends overall and by household socioeconomic status. Healthy Eating Index-Toddlers-2020 total scores and component scores were calculated from 24-hour dietary recalls.

The researchers observed a significant improvement in toddler diet quality from 1999 to 2018, from 63.7 to 67.7 points in 1999–2000 and 2017–2018, respectively. All socioeconomic status groups had a significant positive linear trend in total diet quality.

There was improvement in several dietary component scores, including whole fruits, whole grains, fatty acids, refined grains, and added sugars. No significant changes were seen in the scores for total fruit, total vegetables, greens and beans, dairy, total protein foods, seafood and plant proteins, sodium, or saturated fats.

“Future research should explore the most cost-effective influences on toddler diet quality and strategies to improve it on a population scale,” the authors write.

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