Dietary intake and quality during transition periods of drop-off and pickup from child-care centers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Children in childcare make two transitions daily between home and childcare, which are stressful for parents and children. Little is known about children’s diets during these transition periods. This study compared children’s dietary intake and quality during transition periods (1 hour before and after drop-off, 1 hour before and after pickup) and non-transition periods to address this literature gap. We used 24-hour dietary intake data from 307 children attending 30 child-care centers in the Preschool Eating and Activity Study (2009–2011). We used hierarchical linear regression to test for differences in dietary quality per 1000 kcal during transition and non-transition periods. When comparing all transition periods to non-transition periods, consumption of added sugar (g) (β = 13.92 ± 2.78, p < .001) and servings of sweet and salty snack foods (β = 0.64 ± 0.13, p < .001) were higher, while servings of dairy (β=-0.20 ± 0.10, p = .04) and vegetables (β=-0.54 ± 0.07, p < .001) were lower. When comparing each transition period individually to non-transition periods, the hour after pickup appeared the least healthful, with higher consumption of added sugar (g) (β = 21.67 ± 3.56, p < .001), servings of sweet and salty snack foods (β = 1.10 ± 0.16, p < .001), and servings of sugar-sweetened beverages (β = 0.48 ± 0.10, p < .001). Implications are that transition periods may provide a window to improve dietary quality of children attending child-care centers.