Abstract
(1) Background: Caregiver feeding practices during the first two years of a child’s life influence nutrition, growth, and development, as well as long term taste preferences and dietary patterns. Suboptimal feeding practices lead to poorer health outcomes, such as obesity, that persist into adulthood. Although the importance of early life nutrition is well-established, there are no Australia-wide surveys of dietary intakes of children under two years of age. The 2021 Australian Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (OzFITS) aims to fill this gap. This paper describes the methods and study sample of OzFITS 2021. (2) Methods: OzFITS 2021 is a cross-sectional study of children aged 0 to 23.9 months of age and their caregiver across Australia. Data were collected between April 2020 and April 2021. A telephone-based survey was completed with a caregiver to obtain information on child and caregiver characteristics and feeding practices. For exclusively breastfed infants, the number of breastfeeds in a 24 h period was reported. Dietary intakes for mixed fed children were estimated using a one-day food record, with 30% of caregivers completing a second food record on a non-consecutive day. (3) Results: We enrolled 1140 caregiver and child dyads. Of those eligible to complete a food record, 853 (87%) completed the food record. Compared to the Australian population, caregivers were more likely to be university-educated (>75%), married or in a de facto relationship (94%), and have a household income >$100,000/y (60%). (4) Conclusions: OzFITS 2021 is the first national study to examine food and nutrient intake in Australian children aged under 2 years. The study will provide information on breastfeeding rates and duration, use of breast milk substitutes, and timing of solid food introduction. Dietary intake data will allow the comparison of core food groups and discretionary food intake to Australian guidelines and estimate the prevalence of inadequate intake of key nutrients, like iron. Healthcare practitioners and policymakers can use the study findings as a source of evidence to inform the next iteration of infant feeding guidelines.
Highlights
During the first two years of life, caregiver feeding practices influence a child’s growth and development along with their long-term taste preferences, dietary patterns, and appetite regulation [1,2,3,4]
The socio-demographic and child-feeding questionnaire, portion estimation guide, and food record (Section 2.4.3.1) were pilot tested in a group (n = 48) of caregivers with children aged under 2 years in Adelaide
A data quality audit was performed of all food records and assessed each child’s energy intake against their
Summary
During the first two years of life, caregiver feeding practices influence a child’s growth and development along with their long-term taste preferences, dietary patterns, and appetite regulation [1,2,3,4]. Given the importance of early life feeding practices on short- and long-term health outcomes, it is surprising that there is no national data on the contemporary feeding practices of young children. To address this gap, in this study, we aim to: (1) describe breastfeeding initiation rates, duration, and use of breast milk substitutes; (2) determine the timing of introduction of solid foods including common food allergens; (3) estimate usual energy and nutrient intake distribution and prevalence of inadequate nutrient intakes; and (4) compare dietary intake of core food groups and discretionary foods to Australian Guidelines for Healthy Eating [12]. We describe the study design, recruitment method, instrument development and testing, sampling frame, data collection, and key characteristics of the participants
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