(PO16-18-22) Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Infants and Toddlers By Eating Occasion in the United States, NHANES 2011-2018

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Presenting Author(s)

Erika Faust, MPH
– Health Specialist, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Co-Author(s)

JR

Jill Reedy, PhD, MPH, RDN
– Branch Chief, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
KH

Kirsten A. Herrick, PhD, MSc
– Program Director, National Cancer Institute, ROCKVILLE, Maryland, United States

Disclosure(s):

Erika Faust, MPH: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Jill Reedy, PhD, MPH, RDN: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Objectives: To describe nationally representative prevalence estimates of any fruit or vegetable consumption among US infants and toddlers during specific eating occasions.

Methods: Day one dietary recall data from NHANES 2011-2018 were used to determine the prevalence of any fruit or vegetable consumption in infants and toddlers aged 6-23 months (N=1,544). Intake was assessed for five eating occasions: breakfast, lunch, dinner, AM snack, and PM snack. To assess differences in intake by age, sex, race/ethnicity, head of household education level, and WIC eligibility, t-tests were used in SAS 9.4, accounting for complex survey design.

Results: On a given day, 81.3% of infants and toddlers consumed any fruits or vegetables. Fewer 6-11-month-old (62.3%) infants ate any fruits or vegetables on a given day compared with 12-17-month (90.1%) and 18-23-month-old (93.6%) toddlers. Snack times had the lowest prevalence of any fruit or vegetable consumption (AM snack: 18.8%; PM snack: 40.5%). For all age groups, any consumption of fruits or vegetables increased throughout the day by main mealtime (breakfast: 46.4%; lunch: 59.6%; dinner: 66.6%). For main mealtimes, prevalence of any fruit or vegetable intake was lower in infants aged 6-11 months compared with toddlers aged 12-17 and 18-23 months (breakfast: 6-11 months, 33.0%, 12-17 months, 55.5%, 18-23 months, 52.0%; lunch: 6-11 months, 42.7%, 12-17 months, 68.5%, 18-23 months, 69.5%; dinner: 6-11 months, 47.5%, 12-18 months, 74.3%, 18-23 months, 80.2%). At breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the percentage of infants and toddlers who consumed any fruits or vegetables was higher among families in which the head of household had a college degree or above compared with less than a high school degree. Prevalence of fruit or vegetable intake was significantly lower for those who were eligible for WIC (breakfast: 42.5%; lunch: 54.8%; dinner: 63.1%) compared with those who were ineligible for WIC (breakfast: 51.6%; lunch: 65.3%; dinner: 71.0%).

Conclusions: Four out of 5 infants and toddlers consumed any fruits or vegetables on a given day. This analysis identified breakfast and AM snack as eating occasions with the lowest prevalence of any fruit or vegetable consumption. These eating occasions could be a target for introduction or increasing fruit or vegetable consumption among infants and toddlers.

Funding Sources: None