Nutritional Resources and Techniques for Young Children

NCT07055126 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: ECM 4 (g) 02/07/2024
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 80
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

This randomised controlled dietary intervention study aims to test the effect of introducing fresh meat and vegetable-based recipes and targeted dietary resources into a healthy, sustainable toddler diet on dietary intakes relative to a control group consuming a standard diet based on Irish healthy eating guidelines. This study aims to recruit 80 young children (24-42 months old) who will be randomised to an intervention (provided with individualised dietary counselling, alongside a targeted healthy eating resource, focused on incorporating fresh red meat and vegetable based recipes into a sustainable and safe diet for young children), or control group receiving (provided with basic healthy eating advice as per the Food Safety Authority of Ireland's Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for 1-5-year-olds). Participants will:

• Include any of the recipes in their child's diet on 3 occasions during the week, for 12 weeks
• Complete a variety of validated nutrition and feeding questionnaires
• Complete 2 onsite visits, at the baseline and endpoint of the intervention period The provision of targeted dietary counselling with nutritional resources and techniques will allow us to investigate the impact of these strategies on improving the overall diet of young children.

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

young children; nutrition education; dietary assessment; nutritional resources

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in dietary intake of key nutrients (iron, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B12, protein and total energy) from baseline to 12 weeks

  Assessment of change in dietary intake of iron, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B12, protein, and total energy from baseline to week 12 in toddlers (aged 24-42 months), as measured by a 2-day weighed food and drink diary analyzed using Nutritics software.

  From baseline to 12 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (22)

• Change in weight (kilograms) from baseline to 12 weeks

  From baseline to 12 weeks

• Change in height (meters) from baseline to 12 weeks

  From baseline to 12 weeks

• Parent reported feasibility and acceptability of the healthy eating resource and recipes

  Week 12 (Endpoint Visit)

• Change in mean parental food neophobia score as measured by the Food Neophobia Scale from baseline to 12 weeks

  From baseline to 12 weeks

• Change in mean score on the Cooking Skills Questionnaire (CSQ) from baseline to 12 weeks

  From baseline to 12 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

Parents/guardians of study participants will be provided with basic healthy eating advice, as per the Food Safety Authority of Ireland's Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for 1-5-year-olds (Food Safety Authority of Ireland, 2020).

Intervention Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Parents/guardians of study participants will be given individualised dietary counselling, coaching and resource provision around healthy eating, with a particular focus on incorporating fresh meat and vegetables into a healthy, sustainable and safe diet for young children.

Other: Individualised dietary counselling, coaching and resource provision around healthy eating for young children

Interventions

Individualised dietary counselling, coaching and resource provision around healthy eating for young children OTHER

Study participants randomised to receive the intervention will receive nutrition education support, through individualised dietary counselling, coaching and resource provision around healthy eating, with a particular focus on incorporating fresh meat and vegetables into a healthy, sustainable and safe diet for young children. Those in the control group will not receive this individualised nutrition education and supports.

Intervention Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 24 Months - 42 Months
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Child aged between 24-42 months (at time of study recruitment).
• In general good health.
• Following an unrestricted diet.
• Capable of completing the study assessments.
• Parent/guardian must be willing to provide written informed consent for their child's participation.

You may not qualify if:

• \- Follows a vegetarian or vegan or meat-avoidant diet.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University College Cork: lead

Study Sites (2)

Human Nutrition Studies Unit

Cork, Cork, T12 K8AF, Ireland

Location

Human Nutrition Studies Unit, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork.

Cork, Ireland, Ireland

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 29, 2025
• First Posted: July 8, 2025
• Study Start: June 6, 2025
• Primary Completion: May 1, 2026
• Study Completion: May 1, 2026
• Last Updated: April 29, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

IE (2)