Growing Well Study: The Role of Portion Size, Plant-based and Commercial Foods on Young Child Growth
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 招募中
- 入组人数
- 1,890
- 试验地点
- 6
- 主要终点
- Weight-for-height/length Z scores
研究概览
简要总结
What are the study aims? To understand more about eating habits and age-appropriate food/drink portion sizes of children aged 6 months-5 years old, and how this affects their growth and dental health.
Why is this research important? Healthy diets in early years are important for growth and development. However, clear guidance for parents on what and how much children should eat is missing due to lack of up-to-date information.
What will the investigators do? Information will be collected at two time points. At baseline, parents/guardians of children aged 6 months-4 years from Leeds, Doncaster and East London will complete questionnaires about their child's sociodemographic information and food intake. They will be asked to record what their child eats for three separate one-day periods using an online system called 'myfood24'. Parents will also attend one in-person session for measuring their child's length/height, weight, and waist circumference.
At follow-up one year later, parents/guardians will complete surveys again, with another in-person session to look at growth and assess dental health.
What do the investigators expect to achieve and what happens next? They want to understand how growth and dental health are influenced by nutrient intakes, dietary patterns, and portion sizes for key food groups. They will also identify how much of different foods children should be eating, and whether commercial foods and sweet drinks are relevant.
They will explore which dietary factors can support healthier children; and how low intakes of key foods or vitamins/minerals in vulnerable groups could be redressed. The study will provide unique information, allowing for development of recommendations for parents and policy-makers on age-appropriate portions, on achieving good nutrition in UK children and within special dietary groups, and on dietary considerations in caring for children's teeth.
详细描述
Research question
The investigators will answer questions posed by the recent Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) report:
- What are age-appropriate food and drink portion sizes in relation to growth and dental health?
- What are the short-term effects (12 months) on growth and dental health of commercial foods for children; vegetarian/vegan/dairy-free dietary patterns?
- What is the impact on growth and dental health of macro- and micro-nutrient intakes; fruit juices/free sugars; formula milks for 12m+; sweeteners?
Background In the UK, little contemporary data exists on diet in young children but worrying trends in preschool overweight and dental health are reported. Current young child diets do not meet dietary recommendations and evidence-driven age-appropriate portion size recommendations are missing. Further research into the impact of plant-based diets, the use of commercial foods, and toddler milks is also recommended by SACN.
Aims and Objectives To provide new evidence on diet in children aged 6 months - 5 years, linked to optimum growth and dental health. Quantifying age-appropriate portion sizes for different foods and drinks.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Observational
- 观察模型
- Cohort
- 时间视角
- Prospective
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 6 Months 至 4 Years（Child）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •Children aged 6 months-4 years along with their parents or guardians who reside in or near one of the three study locations and planned fieldwork sites: Leeds, Doncaster, or East London. For East London, eligibility includes individuals living in or near Tower Hamlets or an adjacent borough
- •All participants are eligible regardless of background, language, educational ability, or literacy level.
排除标准
- •Plan to move outside of the study area within the next 12 months
- •Children not living with the consenting parent/guardian for any part of the week or not living with the consenting parent/guardian at the time of data collection (e.g. in care, hospital, or living wholly with another family member).
- •Children with significant oral feeding difficulties (e.g. tube-feeding or developmental delays)
- •Children that have been diagnosed with a long-term condition that affects their growth or development (e.g. hormonal or genetic conditions)
- •Children from subgroups where quotas have been filled will be excluded to maintain balanced representation across all study groups (e.g., age 3, non-deprived locations).
结局指标
主要结局
Weight-for-height/length Z scores
时间窗: Baseline (2026) and follow-up 12 months later
Weight (kg) and length or height (cm) are combined to this indicator. A standardized measure of body weight relative to height or length and sex. Following international reccomendations, length is used for children \<2 years and height for those \>=2 years. Scores typically range from -5 to +5 Z scores, with higher scores indicating greater weight relative to height/length.
Dental caries
时间窗: Follow-up only (2027)
Prevalence following the National Dental Epidemiology Programme methodology, including a visual-only examination by trained and calibrated dental examiners, using the dentinal cavitation (d₃mft) as diagnostic threshold.
次要结局
- Dental health(Follow-up only (2027))
- Length/Height-for-Age Z-score(Baseline (2026) and 12-month follow up)
- Weight-for-Age Z-score(Baseline (2026) and 12-month follow up)
- Body Mass Index for-Age Z-score(Baseline (2026) and 12 month follow-up)
- Waist circumference(Baseline (2026) and 12 month follow-up)
研究者
Diane Threapleton
Senior Research Fellow
University of Leeds