Diet quality of young children who received nutrition education promoting lower dietary fat

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the impact of nutrition education promoting lower dietary fat on the overall diet quality in children using a multidimensional index that measures nutrient and food intakes in relation to US dietary recommendations. Design: Prospective cohort study with two intervention and two control groups. Children with elevated low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were randomized to one of two intervention groups or an at-risk control group. The intervention children received either the parent-child autotutorial (PCAT) programme, a 10-week home-based self-instruction nutrition education programme, or nutrition counselling from a registered dietitian. Children with non-elevated plasma cholesterol formed the not-atrisk control group. Dietary and blood data were collected at baseline and at 3 months. Setting: Paediatric practices in suburbs north of Philadelphia, PA. Subjects: Two hundred and twenty-seven 4-10-year-old children with elevated LDL cholesterol between the 80th and 98th percentiles, and 76 age- and gender-matched children with non-elevated plasma cholesterol, were studied. Results: Children who received PCAT or counselling significantly improved their overall diet quality (-0.6 and -0.4 change in diet quality index (DQI) scores) compared with at-risk control children. Children who received either form of nutrition education were more likely to meet the recommendations for three components of the DQI (total fat, saturated fat, sodium) (OR > 1.7), but did not improve their intakes of three components of the DQI (vegetables and fruits, complex carbohydrates, calcium) at 3 months. Conclusions: Nutrition education promoting lower dietary fat improved children's overall diet quality. However, several dietary behaviours important for long-term health remained unchanged.