Health effects of diet in young children.

The overall aim of this project is to assess how the diet of children aged 1-5y in the UK influences their health in childhood, adolescence and early adulthood.

The specific objectives are to address questions raised by the UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) in their 2023 report on Feeding Infants and Young Children.

This report highlighted the need for evidence on how the intake of foods such as convenience toddler foods or plant-based milks, or of nutrients such as free sugars in fruit juice and smoothies or animal vs. plant proteins, influence the nutrient adequacy of the diet and contribute to growth and development and to overweight, dental caries and cardio-metabolic health into adulthood.

To address these questions, we will carry out secondary analysis of data from four surveys which include measurements of diet in young children: The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) which collects diet by on-line 24-hour recall on 2 days in a representative sample of the UK population, along with measurements of height and weight.

We will use data from approximately 1200 children aged 1- 5-years expected to take part between 2019 and 2025.

The Diet in Scotland s Children (DISH) survey which is collecting diet information by on-line 24-hour recall over 2-4 days in a representative sample of children in Scotland, along with data on household food insecurity. Around 300 children aged 2-5-years are expected to take part during spring 2024.

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is a birth cohort of children born in 1991-2 in the county of Avon, in whom diet was measured by 3-day food diary at ages 1.5, 3 and 4-years in around 1,000 children.

Detailed measures of growth, development and health have been made in the majority of these children up to the age of 30-years.

The Study of Eczema and Asthma To Observe the effects of Nutrition (SEATON) birth cohort study of children born in NE Scotland in 1998-9, in whom diet was measured by food frequency questionnaire at age 5-years in around 1,000 children.

Dentist-assessed oral health at ages 5 and 11-years will be obtained from the records of the School National Dental Inspection Programme.

The NDNS and DISH studies will provide information on the diets of present-day young children across the UK and will allow us to assess the changes in children s diets since the 1990s.

These changes will help us to interpret the longer-term health outcomes of diet observed in the ALSPAC and SEATON studies.

Our analyses will adjust for the effects of confounding variables such as child sex, household socioeconomic position and physical activity, dietary habits, and smoking habits in adolescence and adulthood.