An Obesity Risk Assessment Tool for Young Children: Validity With BMI and Nutrient Values.

OBJECTIVE: Demonstrate validity and reliability for an obesity risk assessment tool for young children targeting families' modifiable home environments.

DESIGN: Longitudinal design with data collected over 100 weeks.

SETTING: Head Start and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

PARTICIPANTS: Parent-child pairs (n = 133) provided food behavior assessments; 3 child-modified, 24-hour dietary recalls; 3 ≥ 36-hour activity logs; and measured heights and weights.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Five measures of validity and 5 of reliability.

RESULTS: Validity was excellent for the assessment tool, named Healthy Kids, demonstrating an inverse relationship with child body mass index percentile-for-age (P = .02). Scales were significantly related to hypothesized variables (P ≤ .05): fruit or vegetable cup equivalents; folate; vitamins A, C, and D; β-carotene; calcium; fiber; sugar; screen, sleep, and physical activity minutes; and parent behaviors. Measures of reliability were acceptable.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Overall, children with higher Healthy Kids scores had a more healthful profile as well as lower body mass index percentiles-for-age 1.5 years later. Healthy Kids has potential for use by nutrition professionals as a screening tool to identify young children most at risk for excess weight gain, as an evaluation to assess intervention impact, and as a counseling tool to tailor intervention efforts. Future research should include validation in other settings and with other populations.