Variety of High and Very Low-Energy Density Foods among Preschool-Aged Children and Associations with Food Intake, Diet Quality, and Weight Status

Abstract

Background: Energy density (ED) and the variety of foods are 2 factors that may have a combined effect on preschool-aged children's ability to regulate food intake. However, little is known about the variety of foods consumed within different ED categories by children in the United States.

Objective: Therefore, we explored the variety of high ED (HED, 4-9 kcal/g) and very low ED (VLED, <0.6 kcal/g) foods consumed by a nationally representative sample of children aged 2-5 y in the United States and the relationship between variety with food intake, diet quality, and weight status.

Methods: ED, variety, and diet quality were assessed using two 24-h dietary recalls collected as part of the National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2018 cycles (n = 1682). We assessed associations between HED and VLED varieties with energy intake, volume of food, diet quality, and weight status using multivariable linear and logistic regressions.

Results: The HED variety was positively associated with energy intake (P < 0.0001). The VLED variety was positively associated with the volume of food (P < 0.0001) and diet quality (P < 0.0001). VLED was negatively associated with the odds of having obesity in minimally adjusted models [odds ratio (OR): 0.62; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.31, 0.87]; however, the relationship was not significant in fully adjusted models. Patterns of variety intake were differently associated with energy, volume, and diet quality. Children consuming the high VLED variety and the low HED variety had lower odds of obesity [OR: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.90]; however, this pattern was rare (10%).

Conclusions: These findings suggest that the variety of HED foods is associated with higher average energy intake per day, and the variety of VLED foods is associated with a higher volume of food consumed per day and diet quality in a nationally representative sample of preschool-aged children.

Keywords: childhood obesity; diet quality; energy density; food intake; variety.