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Are Meals and Snacks Consumed by Preschool‐aged Children in Family Child Care Homes Meeting the Dietary Guidelines?

Although family child care homes (FCCH) are the second most utilized form of non‐relative child care in the US, little is known about what children eat in this setting. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of meals and snacks consumed by children aged 2–5 in FCCH compared to the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA 2015). This study used baseline data from an ongoing cluster randomized controlled intervention trial in FCCH. Preschool‐aged children (n = 104; 2–5 years old) enrolled in 34 FCCH, were observed during two meals and a snack each day for two days, following a standardized protocol. Foods and beverages consumed were analyzed in the Nutrition Data System for Research 2015. Mean portion sizes consumed of each food group were compared to 2/3 of the daily intake recommendations established by the DGA 2015 for children 1–3 years old (1000 kcal) as recommendations are not standard for children 2–5 years old, proportional to the daily nutrient requirements for time spent in childcare. One‐sample t‐tests were run to test for differences between the mean amounts of food groups consumed compared to the national guidelines. Mean intakes of children did not meet the recommended 0.67 cup of vegetables (0.27 ± 0.21 cup, 40% of recommendation), 1.0 ounce of whole grains (0.37 ± 0.37 ounce, 37% of recommendation), and 14 grams of fiber (5.60 ± 2.14 gram, 40% of recommendation). However, children were close to meeting the recommended 0.67 cup of fruit (0.64 ± 0.46 cup, 97% of recommendation). Generally, children in this FCCH study did not meet national recommendations for vegetables, whole grain, and fiber. Future research should continue to develop and evaluate strategies to increase fruit, vegetable and whole grain intake in early child care settings.