title: Some similarities in dietary clusters of pre-school children and their mothers.
abstract: The diet of pre-school children is determined by the parents and carers. The aim of the present study was to describe dietary clusters of pre-school children and their mothers in Finland, and analyse the similarity of dietary clusters within child-mother pairs. The present study comprised the mothers (n 4862) whose child was recruited in the Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Nutrition Study and the children belonging to selected, cross-sectional age groups of 1 year (n 719), 3 years (n 708) and 6 years (n 841). The dietary data were collected from children by 3-d food records and from mothers by a FFQ validated for pregnant women. The food consumption data were analysed for patterns by hierarchical cluster analysis. Three main dietary clusters were identified in children: 'healthy' and 'traditional' in all three age groups, and 'ready-to-eat baby foods' in 1-year-olds and 'fast foods, sweet' in the older children. Six main clusters were identified among the mothers who completed a FFQ for their diet during pregnancy. Some familial dependence between dietary clusters of mother-child pairs was observed in 6-year-old children but not in younger children. Younger age and lower educational level of the mother were associated with the cluster 'fast food, sweet' only at the age of 3 years. The diets of pre-school children vary by age and only a slight similarity within dietary clusters of mother-child pairs was observed.
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Unit, Department of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention, National Public Health Institute, Mannerheimintie 166, Helsinki, Finland. marja-leena.ovaskainen@ktl.fi
authors.forename: Marja-Leena
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ovaskainen
authors.forename: Jaakko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nevalainen
authors.forename: Liisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Uusitalo
authors.forename: Jetta J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Tuokkola
authors.forename: Tuula
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arkkola
authors.forename: Carina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kronberg-Kippilä
authors.forename: Riitta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Veijola
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Knip
authors.forename: Suvi M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Virtanen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000517:prevention & control; D004032:Diet; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D011247:Pregnancy; D012923:Social Class