Discipline of Pediatrics, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
Women and Kids Theme, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
Nutrients. 2021 Dec 17;13(12):4524. doi: 10.3390/nu13124524.
(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.
（1）背景：儿童生命最初两年中照顾者的喂养实践影响营养、生长和发育，以及长期的口味偏好和饮食模式。喂养实践不佳会导致较差的健康结果，例如肥胖，这些问题会持续到成年。尽管早期生活营养的重要性已得到充分证实，但目前还没有澳大利亚全国范围内针对 2 岁以下儿童饮食摄入量的调查。2021 年澳大利亚喂养婴儿和幼儿研究（OzFITS）旨在填补这一空白。本文描述了 OzFITS 2021 的方法和研究样本。（2）方法：OzFITS 2021 是一项针对澳大利亚 0 至 23.9 个月龄儿童及其照顾者的横断面研究。数据收集于 2020 年 4 月至 2021 年 4 月期间。通过电话调查完成了对照顾者的调查，以获取有关儿童和照顾者特征以及喂养实践的信息。对于纯母乳喂养的婴儿，报告了 24 小时内母乳喂养的次数。对于混合喂养的儿童，使用一日食物记录来估计饮食摄入量，其中 30%的照顾者在非连续日完成了第二份食物记录。（3）结果：我们招募了 1140 对照顾者和儿童。在有资格完成食物记录的人中，有 853 人（87%）完成了食物记录。与澳大利亚人口相比，照顾者更有可能接受过大学教育（>75%）、已婚或处于事实婚姻关系（94%），且家庭收入>100000 澳元/年（60%）。（4）结论：OzFITS 2021 是第一项全国性研究，旨在检查澳大利亚 2 岁以下儿童的食物和营养素摄入情况。该研究将提供有关母乳喂养率和持续时间、母乳代用品使用以及固体食物引入时间的信息。饮食摄入数据将允许将核心食物组和随意性食物摄入与澳大利亚指南进行比较，并估计关键营养素（如铁）摄入不足的流行率。医疗保健从业者和政策制定者可以使用研究结果作为证据来源，为下一轮婴儿喂养指南提供信息。
