Caregiver methods for reporting diets of 2–5-year-old children

Enhancing the Accuracy of Self-Reported Dietary Intake in Young Children: Development of Two Proxy Reporting Protocols for Self-Reported Dietary Assessment

This project tests whether adding smartphone-based momentary prompts to a traditional 24-hour dietary recall helps caregivers of 2–5-year-olds report their children's food intake more accurately.

Quick facts

• Phase: Not applicable
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 40 (estimated)
• Ages: 2 Years to 5 Years
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Academic / other)
• Locations: 1 site (Knoxville, Tennessee)
• Trial ID: NCT07227272 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This is a randomized crossover trial comparing a traditional 24-hour dietary recall (24HR) with an ecological momentary assessment (EMA)-assisted 24HR among caregivers of children aged 2–5 years. Caregivers will provide one meal and two snacks to their child on three consecutive days while research staff weigh returned leftovers to obtain objective intake. Each caregiver completes one reporting method, waits a two-week washout, then completes the other method; a second caregiver provides at least two eating occasions to capture foods consumed away from the primary reporter. The study measures usability, types of misreporting, and accuracy of estimated energy intake from each method against the weighed foods.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal participants are adult caregivers (≥18 years) of a 2–5-year-old child without medical food restrictions, who have a compatible smartphone, can identify a second adult caregiver with a smartphone, are willing to feed study-provided foods and take pre/post photos, and live within about 25 miles of Knoxville, Tennessee.

Not a fit: Children with medical food allergies or restrictions, caregivers without a compatible smartphone, families living more than ~25 miles from Knoxville or who reside apart more than two days per week, or caregivers unwilling to provide study foods or take photos are unlikely to benefit from participation.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this could give researchers and clinicians a more accurate and practical way to measure young children's dietary intake, improving nutrition guidance and research.

How similar studies have performed: Prior work using 24HR and EMA in adults and older children has improved real-time reporting, but EMA-assisted proxy reporting for 2–5-year-olds is relatively new and has limited direct validation.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* Adult caregiver ≥ 18 years old
* Absence of food allergies or dietary restrictions for medical reasons (for the child)
* Caregiver reports child likes at least 70% of the study-provided foods from the pre-defined list of food options
* Caregiver has access to a smartphone device compatible with the EMA platform
* Caregiver can identify a second adult caregiver with access to a smartphone device compatible with the EMA platform and willing to provide the child with study-provided foods for at least two eating occasions.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Caregiver unwilling to feed study-provided foods to their child
* Caregiver unwilling to take pre-and-post photos of child's eating occasions
* Caregiver unwilling or unable to identify a second adult caregiver meeting the eligibility criteria
* Caregiver and child reside in a separate household for \> 2 days per week
* Family resides \>25 miles outside of the Knoxville, Tennessee, metropolitan area.

Where this trial is running

Knoxville, Tennessee

• Healthy Eating and Activity Lab, University of Tennessee — Knoxville, Tennessee, United States (Recruiting)

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Emilie Holloway, MS, RDN

Conditions Dietary Assessment; Assessment; Nutrition; Children