Away We Grow! Toddler Nutrition Study Needs Participants

Children grow like weeds in their first few years & obviously, nutrition plays a big role in their development. Particularly fats. Trans fats were in the news a lot in the last few years & food preparation both at restaurants & at home has changed because we're worried about heart disease & weight gain. However, we don't actually know what kinds & how much fat young children actually need.

Researchers at the Child & Family Research Institute (based at BC Children's Hospital) are looking at the fats found in eggs, meat, fish & human milk, which are only found in low amounts in cow’s milk & other dairy, & not at all in vegetable oils, cereals, fruits or vegetables. The goal of the research is to figure out if young children need to eat a certain amount of these fats.

This study aims to gather information that will be used to improve nutrition recommendations for young children, helping parents & health professionals better understand what young children should eat.

Sounds good, right? So here's where you might be able to help.

So that we can understand the role that these unique fats play in young children’s development, Dr. Sheila Innis’ team is recruiting babies aged 12-14 months to participate in a year-long study. Participation involves: answering questions about your child's diet; research staff playing games with your child to evaluate learning & attention; giving a daily nutritional supplement or placebo to your child; tracking your child's growth up to 24 months old; a small blood sample from your child.

Previous studies by the researchers at CFRI & BC Children's Hospital have contributed to the Canadian nutrition guidelines, including Healthy Canada's recent updates to the guide for feeding babies & toddlers up to 24 months.

If we are eligible, Bronte & I will be participating in this research. They need quite a few more children too--will you join us?

For more information, or to participate in the study, visit the CFRI Nutrition website.

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