menuCH-Kids, the First Swiss National Nutrition Survey in Children and Adolescents

Completed

• Conditions: Nutrition Assessment; Healthy Adolescents; Healthy Children; Population Study; Diet Habits; Random Sample; Switzerland; Biomarkers

• Registration Number: NCT07204860
• Lead Sponsor: Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisante), University of Lausanne, Switzerland

Brief Summary

Public health study on the nutritional status and eating habits of children and adolescents in Switzerland

Detailed Description

This multicentric descriptive cross-sectional observational study, including randomly selected children from 6 to 17 years old living in six regions of Switzerland (Vaud, Bern, Zurich, Luzern, St Gallen, Ticino), provide valuable information on the nutritional status of Swiss children.

The aims of this study were to 1) characterize the diet and health behaviors of children and adolescents (who eats what, how much, when, where and with whom); 2) determine the nutritional status, energy and macro- and micro-nutrient intake of children and adolescents; 3) estimate the daily intake of contaminants and other harmful substances; 4) derive population-based national reference values for selected micronutrients and vitamins.

It collected high quality representative data on food consumption, dietary and health behaviours (two 24h recalls, which are extensive interviews qualitative and quantitative about the diet of the previous day, and an online questionnaire on food propensity and dietary habits, lifestyle and sociodemographic data) as well as anthropometric and body composition parameters, blood pressure and biological samples (urine spot, optional venous blood).

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2023-08-17
• Primary Completion: 2024-09-30
• Study Completion: 2024-09-30
• Study First Submitted: 2025-08-18
• Status Verified: 2025-09
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-09-24
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-09-24
• Study First Posted: 2025-10-02
• Last Update Posted: 2025-10-02

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 1852

Inclusion Criteria

• Healthy and free-living children aged between 6 and 17 years
• Permanent residents in Switzerland
• Participants and their legal guardian(s) must be able to read and speak German, French or Italian
• Informed consent provided

Exclusion Criteria

• Known severe chronic disease (e.g. renal, gastrointestinal, cognitive disorder)
• Hospitalization (overnight stay in the last four weeks before the visit)
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding
• Insufficient knowledge of German, French or Italian or inability to understand the study and/or to provide informed consent
• Inability to come to recruitment center
• Refusal to be informed about study incidental findings concerning the child

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Dietary intake	baseline	Dietary intake was captured using two 24-hours recalls using GloboDiet, a multi-pass semi-automatic software, as well as a short food propensity questionaire (FPQ).
Nutritional biomarkers	baseline	Several nutritional biomarkers will be measured in urine and blood, including blood formula, glycated heamoglobin, lipids (cholesterol types, triglycerides), vitamins (D, B9, B12, beta-caroten), ferritin, calcium. More anaylsis will be performed as the biobanked samples will be analysed, a complete updated list will be available on the study data repository.
physical measurements	baseline	weight (kg), height (cm), blood pressure (mmHg), waist and hip circumference (cm)
Lifestyle	baseline	A questionnaire containing lifestyle information, including physical activity, screentime, sleep, eating and cooking habits, dietary supplements, health status. The full questionnaire content is available on the data repository website.
socio-demographic information	baseline	The questionnaire include information about the household, including parent's education and job type, household size, nationality etc. We also have information from the Federal Office of statistics, including typology of their adress (urban vs rural), a spatial socioeconomic proxy (Swiss-SEP), sex and age of the participant... A complete list is available on the study data repository.

Trial Locations

Locations (6)

Ospedale Regionale di Bellinzona, Istituto Pediatrico della Svizzera Italiana; 🇨🇭 Bellinzona, Switzerland

Kinderklinik Inselspital; 🇨🇭 Bern, Switzerland

Unisante; 🇨🇭 Lausanne, Switzerland

Kinderspital Luzern (LUKS); 🇨🇭 Lucerne, Switzerland

Ostschweizer Kinderspital (OKS); 🇨🇭 Sankt Gallen, Switzerland

Universität Zürich; 🇨🇭 Zurich, Switzerland