A Food Variety Index for Toddlers (VIT): Development and Application

Objective: To develop a variety index based on the Food Guide Pyramid that is specific to toddlers and is indicative of dietary adequacy.

Design: Subjects' mothers were assigned randomly to two in-home interviews with a registered dietitian at four possible collection periods: 24, 28, 32, or 36 months. Three days of dietary information were collected at each period. A Variety Index for Toddlers (VIT) was developed to assess variety within and among food groups based on the number of servings from the food groups in the Food Guide Pyramid.

Subjects: White children aged 24 to 36 months (n = 124) and their mothers who were participants in an ongoing longitudinal study.

Statistical Analyses: Descriptive statistical procedures were performed on VIT scores. Mean adequacy ratio (MAR) scores were calculated for all subjects and compared with VIT scores.

Results: Bread group scores were consistently the highest of the individual food groups (mean score = 0.94 to 0.96 on the 0.0 to 1.0 scale); the vegetable and meat groups were generally the lowest (mean score = 0.68 to 0.73 and 0.73 to 0.76, respectively). Mean VIT scores (an average of the five food group scores) over the four collection periods ranged from 0.79 +/- 0.14 to 0.81 +/- 0.15; a score of 1.00 represented intake of at least the minimum number of recommended servings from each food group. VIT scores were strongly correlated to the MAR score of nutrient adequacy (r = +.74, P < .01).

Applications: The VIT can provide a numeric description of dietary variety specific to toddlers. VIT scores can be compared with other characteristics of children, and this index has the potential to be adapted for use with other age groups and populations.