Toddler Diets Have Significantly Improved Over Past Two Decades, Study Says

A study looking at two decades of toddler diet data shows a significant improvement in the overall quality of young children’s diets. The article, “Trends in Toddler Diet Quality in the United States: 1999-2018,” publishes Nov. 5 online and in print in the December 2024 Pediatrics. The study finds that over a 20-year period, toddler diets have steadily grown in total diet quality across all socioeconomic groups. In particular, toddlers consumed increasing amounts of whole fruits and whole grains and decreasing amounts of refined grains and added sugars. Authors say that despite this good news, there are still areas for improvement. Scores for total vegetables, greens and beans, seafood and plant proteins, sodium, and saturated fats were low at baseline in 1999-2000 and did not significantly change over time. Authors suggest further research be conducted to ascertain the most cost-effective influences on toddler diet quality and strategies to improve it on a population scale.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.