Children's Dietary Intake by Early Care and Education Setting in the US Affiliated Pacific

Abstract

Objective: Examine differences in dietary intake of children aged 2-5 years in early care and education (ECE) setting in the US Affiliated Pacific (USAP).

Design: Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data collected by the Children's Healthy Living program.

Participants: Children (n = 1,423) with complete dietary records and information on the ECE setting.

Main outcome measures: Dietary intake by ECE setting; Head Start (HS), other ECE (OE), and no ECE.

Analysis: Comparison of mean dietary intake across ECE settings and multivariate logistic regression to evaluate ECE setting and likelihood for meeting dietary reference intake (DRI).

Results: Children in HS and OE settings had a significantly higher intake of several food groups and nutrients, compared with no ECE; vegetables (0.4 cup-equivalents per thousand kcals [CETK] vs 0.3 CETK; P < 0.001), fruits (0.8 CETK vs 0.6 CETK; P = 0.001), milk (0.9 CETK for HS and 1.0 CETK for OE vs 0.8 CETK; P < 0.001). Sixty-five percent of the HS group met DRI and had greater odds of meeting calcium DRI (odds ratio, 1.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-2.7) compared with other groups. The OE group had the lowest proportion of children meeting recommended intakes for 19 out of 25 nutrients.

Conclusions and implications: Mean intakes of foods and nutrients for children across the USAP meet some, but not all, recommendations and intakes vary across children attending various ECE setting types. Additional research on the clinical importance of these differences and the impact of the complex food systems in the USAP may identify systematic strategies for improving diet among children.

Keywords: child; diet; energy intake; nutrition surveys; preschool.