Beverage Consumption Patterns among Infants and Young Children (0–47.9 Months): Data from the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study, 2016

(1) Background: Data about early life beverage intake patterns is sparse. We describe beverage patterns among infants and young children from the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) 2016. (2) Methods: FITS 2016 is a cross-sectional survey of U.S. parents/caregivers of children 0–47.9 months (n = 3235). Food and beverage intakes were collected by 24-h dietary recalls to describe beverage consumption patterns including: a) prevalence of consumption, per capita and per consumer intake, b) contribution to intake of calories and key nutrients, and c) prevalence according to eating occasions. (3) Results: Breast milk and infant formula were commonly consumed among <12-month-olds. Among 12–23.9-month-olds, the most commonly consumed beverage was whole milk (67% consuming), followed by 100% juice (50% consuming). Plain drinking water was consumed by 70% of 12–23.9-month-olds and 78% of 24–47.9-month-olds. Among 12–47.9-month-olds, milks provided more energy and key nutrients than all other beverages. Across eating occasions, sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption, especially in the form of fruit-flavored drinks, was higher among 24–47.9 compared to 12–23.9-month-olds. Only 23–32% of ≥12-month-olds consumed milk or water at lunch or dinner. (4) Conclusions: Opportunities exist to improve beverage patterns. Future interventions may benefit from focusing on timely introduction of age-appropriate beverages and reducing consumption of SSBs

Development and Application of a Total Diet Quality Index for Toddlers

For the first time, the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans include recommendations for infants and toddlers under 2 years old. We aimed to create a diet quality index based on a scoring system for ages 12 to 23.9 months, the Toddler Diet Quality Index (DQI), and evaluate its construct validity using 24 h dietary recall data collected from a national sample of children from the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) 2016. The mean (standard error) Toddler DQI was 49 (0.6) out of 100 possible points, indicating room for improvement. Toddlers under-consumed seafood, greens and beans, and plant proteins and over-consumed refined grains and added sugars. Toddler DQI scores were higher among children who were ever breastfed, lived in households with higher incomes, and who were Hispanic. The Toddler DQI performed as expected and offers a measurement tool to assess the dietary quality of young children in accordance with federal nutrition guidelines. This is important for providing guidance that can be used to inform public health nutrition policies, programs, and practices to improve diets of young children

One Big Family, One Big House: An In-Depth Look at Lincoln\u27s Clinton Elementary School

Lincoln’s Clinton neighborhood is a nondescript one in many ways, not unlike hundreds of other neighborhoods around the nation. Mature trees line streets with decades-old houses in varying states of repair. And the neighborhood elementary school, a stately, 1920s-era brick building, is right out of Central Casting. But within this very ordinariness is a story about a neighborhood where many families struggle with poverty, as they have for decades in this corner of Lincoln, and where the schoolhouse doors open to a refuge for some 400 children who collectively speak a dozen languages and rely on the teachers and staff for reading, writing and math―and sometimes coats, shoes and food. Clinton Elementary School, as one child says in a poster on the first-floor hallway wall, is like one big family in one big house. Six student reporters and two student photographers from a University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications depth-reporting class explored Clinton’s world in a six-month project that took them to graffiti-sprinkled alleys a stone’s throw from Clinton School and into the controlled chaos of elementary classrooms where teachers routinely fall in love with the diverse parade of students―who love them in return. This publication is a product of their work and that of the eight editing and design students, under the guidance of UNL faculty member Nancy Anderson, who created the magazine during a summer school magazine editing class. But most important, it is the product of the patience and enthusiasm of the Clinton Elementary School staff, led by Principal Mona Manley, who welcomed us to the school, answered endless questions and showed by her example how dynamic leaders can make a difference. Student reporters spent the day at Clinton on March 1 and returned numerous times through the end of the school year. We agreed at the outset to identify by first name only most of the children in these stories. In addition to getting to know the school, the UNL student reporters also explored the Clinton neighborhood with Lincoln Action Program neighborhood organizer Shawn Ryba, who took students on a neighborhood walking tour, and Clinton Neighborhood Association President Maurice Baker, who welcomed class members to an association meeting. Readers will meet a wide variety of teachers, students, school administrators, parents, law enforcement officials and other community members, all of whom willingly shared their perspectives about the Clinton neighborhood and school. They opened our eyes to see beyond the ordinariness of a neighborhood and instead glimpse a world where families face financial strains and language barriers and many children don’t have enough to eat. But they also showed us a world where a unique group of grown-ups tries to fix what’s fixable and turn every day into a smile. It matters for the Clinton children. And for us all. (Note: a non-optimized version of the PDF -- 115MB -- is available below as an Additional file.

Nurturing children’s development through healthy eating and active living: Time for policies to support effective interventions in the context of responsive emotional support and early learning

Fostering the growth, development, health, and wellbeing of children is a global priority. The early childhood period presents a critical window to influence lifelong trajectories, however urgent multisectoral action is needed to ensure that families are adequately supported to nurture their children’s growth and development. With a shared vision to give every child the best start in life, thus helping them reach their full developmental potential, we have formed the International Healthy Eating, Active Living Matters (HEALing Matters) Alliance. Together, we form a global network of academics and practitioners working across child health and development, and who are dedicated to improving health equity for children and their families. Our goal is to ensure that all families are free from structural inequality and oppression and are empowered to nurture their children’s growth and development through healthy eating and physical activity within the context of responsive emotional support, safety and security, and opportunities for early learning. To date, there have been disparate approaches to promoting these objectives across the health, community service, and education sectors. The crucial importance of our collective work is to bring these priorities for early childhood together through multisectoral interventions, and in so doing tackle head on siloed approaches. In this Policy paper, we draw upon extensive research and call for collective action to promote equity and foster positive developmental trajectories for all children. We call for the delivery of evidence-based programs, policies, and services that are co-designed to meet the needs of all children and families and address structural and systemic inequalities. Moving beyond the “what” is needed to foster the best start to life for all children, we provide recommendations of “how” we can do this. Such collective impact will facilitate intergenerational progression that builds human capital in future generations.</p