Child feeding indexes measuring adherence to New Zealand nutrition guidelines: Development and assessment
Open Access
- 19 July 2022
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Maternal & Child Nutrition
- Vol. 18 (4), e13402
- https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13402
Abstract
New Zealand (NZ) lacks nationally representative or generalisable information on the dietary intakes of pre-schoolers. We used Growing Up in New Zealand cohort data to i) develop child feeding indexes (CFIs) based on National Food and Nutrition Guidelines for 2- and 4.5-year-olds; ii) describe the cohort adherence to the guidelines at 2 (n = 6046) and 4.5 years (n = 5889) and; iii) assess the CFIs' convergent construct validity, by exploring associations with maternal sociodemographic and health behaviours and with child body mass index for age (BMI/age) and the waist-to-height ratio at 4.5 years. The CFIs scores ranged from 0 to 11, with 11 representing full adherence to the guidelines. Associations were tested using multiple linear regressions and Poisson regressions with robust variance (risk ratios [RR], 95% confidence intervals, 95% CI). The CFIs mean scores (SD) at 2 and 4.5 years were, respectively, 6.13 (1.21) and 6.22 (1.26) points. Maternal characteristics explained, respectively, 27.2% and 31.9% of the variation in the CFIs scores at 2 and 4.5 years. In the adjusted model at the 4.5-year interview, in relation to girls ranked in the 5th quintile, those in the 2nd (RR, 95% CI: 1.48; 1.03; 1.24) and 4th (1.53; 1.05; 2.23) quintiles of the CFI were more likely to have BMI/age > +2z (World Health Organization growth standards) at 4.5 years. At 2 and 4.5 years, most children fell short of meeting national guidelines. The associations between the CFIs scores at both time points with maternal characteristics and with children's body size at 4.5 years were in the expected directions, confirming the CFIs' convergent construct validity among NZ pre-schoolers.This publication has 32 references indexed in Scilit:
- Gender Differences in Physiologic Markers and Health Behaviors Associated With Childhood ObesityPEDIATRICS, 2013
- Development and validation of a food-based diet quality index for New Zealand adolescentsBMC Public Health, 2013
- Identification of a dietary pattern prospectively associated with increased adiposity during childhood and adolescenceInternational Journal of Obesity, 2012
- Characterizing whole diets of young children from developed countries and the association between diet and health: a systematic reviewNutrition Reviews, 2011
- Scores on the Dietary Guideline Index for Children and Adolescents Are Associated with Nutrient Intake and Socio-Economic Position but Not AdiposityJournal of Nutrition, 2011
- Reproducibility and validity of a diet quality index for children assessed using a FFQBritish Journal of Nutrition, 2010
- Ethnic variance in iron status: is it related to dietary intake?Public Health Nutrition, 2009
- Gendered dimensions of obesity in childhood and adolescenceNutrition Journal, 2008
- A critical review of predefined diet quality scoresBritish Journal of Nutrition, 2007
- Statistics Notes: Validating scales and indexesBMJ, 2002