(P19-44-26) Food Group Contributions and Differences in Nutrient Intake Among U.S. Toddlers (13-36 months) Participating in WIC

Objectives: U.S. toddlers face nutrient deficiency risk during the transition to solid foods. This study assessed food group contributions to the total nutrient intakes of vitamins D and E, potassium, and fiber, and examined differences in food group consumption across subpopulation groups.

Methods: This study used the WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 data, a longitudinal cohort of mother-infant dyads from 80 WIC sites across 27 U.S states. Eligible mothers were ≥16 y, enrolling in WIC during pregnancy, or enrolling their infant < 3 mos. Data included dietary intake, anthropometry, demographic characteristics, and other WIC-relevant data. Dietary intake was assessed by 24-hr recalls from birth to age nine. We analyzed the weighted-mean daily intakes of vitamin D, vitamin E, potassium, and fiber, and their percent contribution from selected food groups of toddlers. We further employed interaction testing to identify differences in food group contributions across age, gender, and maternal race/ethnicity groups.

Results: At ages 13, 24, and 36 mos, dietary data were collected from 2799, 2465, and 2600 toddlers, respectively. Weighted mean intakes were 331.1 IU vitamin D (95% CI: 325.3, 336.7 IU), 1.8 mg vitamin E (95% CI: 1.6, 1.9 mg), 1947.4 mg potassium (95% CI: 1925.2, 1969.5 mg), and 10.3 g fiber (95% CI: 10.1, 10.4 g), all below the EARs. Milk contributed the most to Vitamin D (64.5%), Vitamin E (31.9%), and potassium (31.3%) intake, while grains contributed the highest to fiber intake (37.8%). Both mean intake and food group contribution varied by age (p-for-interaction < 0.001). Significant interaction between food group sources and maternal race/ethnicity was observed for Vitamin D, potassium, and fiber contributions (p-for-interaction < 0.001). Toddlers of Hispanic/Latino mothers had the lowest percent of fiber intake from grains compared to all other groups (33.7% vs ~ 40-43%, p< 0.001). Toddlers of Non-Hispanic Black / African American mothers had the lowest percentages of vitamin D (58.8% vs ~ 64-67%, p< 0.001) and potassium intake (27.2% vs ~ 30-33%, p< 0.001) from milk compared to all other groups. There was no interaction across gender.

Conclusions: WIC toddlers have suboptimal intakes of key nutrients, with differences in the contribution of intake by food group for different age, and race/ethnicity groups

Funding Sources: No external funding