Serve sizes and frequency of food consumption in Australian children aged 14 and 24 months.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the dietary intake of a sample of Australian children.

METHODS: Three days (1×24 hour recall, 2×24 hour records) of dietary intake data were collected from 409 and 363 mother-child dyads (resident in Brisbane and South Australia) at 14 (T2) and 24 (T3) months of age respectively as part of the NOURISH and SAIDI studies. Data presented include foods consumed by ≥10% of children, number of consumers and median serve size.

RESULTS: Thirteen of 25 vegetables consumed by more than 10% of children at T2 were consumed by a lower proportion at T3 (9:1-5% less consumers; 4: 10-16% less). Eleven discretionary foods were consumed by greater than 10% of children at T2, and by T3, this number had almost doubled.

CONCLUSIONS: Increased exposure to discretionary food and decreased exposure to vegetables is occurring in the transition toward family food, during a time of increasing independence and emerging neophobia. Implications for Public Health: The age-related decline in dietary quality is of concern, with potential concurrent impact on nutritional adequacy, development of food preferences and later eating patterns. Serve size data could be used to inform serve sizes for toddlers in future editions of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.