title: Dietary patterns in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.
abstract: Publications from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children that used empirically derived dietary patterns were reviewed. The relationships of dietary patterns with socioeconomic background and childhood development were examined. Diet was assessed using food frequency questionnaires and food records. Three statistical methods were used: principal components analysis, cluster analysis, and reduced rank regression. Throughout childhood, children and parents have similar dietary patterns. The "health-conscious" and "traditional" patterns were associated with high intakes of fruits and/or vegetables and better nutrient profiles than the "processed" patterns. There was evidence of tracking in childhood diet, with the "health-conscious" patterns tracking most strongly, followed by the "processed" pattern. An "energy-dense, low-fiber, high-fat" dietary pattern was extracted using reduced rank regression; high scores on this pattern were associated with increasing adiposity. Maternal education was a strong determinant of pattern score or cluster membership; low educational attainment was associated with higher scores on processed, energy-dense patterns in both parents and children. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children has provided unique insights into the value of empirically derived dietary patterns and has demonstrated that they are a useful tool in nutritional epidemiology.
authors.affiliation: P.M. Emmett is with the Centre for Child and Adolescent Health, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. L.R. Jones and K. Northstone are with the School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. p.m.emmett@bristol.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Pauline M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Emmett
authors.affiliation: P.M. Emmett is with the Centre for Child and Adolescent Health, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. L.R. Jones and K. Northstone are with the School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Louise R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: P.M. Emmett is with the Centre for Child and Adolescent Health, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. L.R. Jones and K. Northstone are with the School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Northstone
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015930:Diet Records; D004034:Diet Surveys; D059305:Diet, High-Fat; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004522:Educational Status; D002149:Energy Intake; D004739:England; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005511:Food Handling; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D010290:Parents; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014675:Vegetables
keywords: ALSPAC; children; cluster analysis; dietary patterns; fruit and vegetables; obesity; pregnancy; principal components analysis; reduced rank regression