Today’s toddlers eating healthier than kids did two decades ago, study finds

Toddler diet quality improved “significantly” over a recent 20-year period, results of a recent study show, but researchers still see room for improvement.

A team from the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to look at 1999-2018 data for more than 2,500 kids 12-23 months old.

They used the Healthy Eating Index to assign the kids a score from 0 to 100.

The results: Over the course of the study period, participants’ diet scores improved to an average of 67.7 from 63.7. On average, the scores increased nearly 0.3 points a year. This positive trend was observed among all socioeconomic groups.

The biggest improvement? Fewer added sugars. Kids also ate more whole fruits, whole grains, fatty acids and refined grains.

Some scores didn’t improve, including for total vegetables, beans and greens, seafood and plant proteins, sodium, and saturated fats. And despite the multiple improvements, the average scores still fell short of current dietary guidelines, the researchers said. 

The Department of Health and Human Services, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is in the process of developing the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The study was published in the journal Pediatrics.