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There are few short, validated tools to assess young children's obesity‐related dietary behaviours, limiting the rapid screening of dietary behaviours in research and practice‐based early obesity prevention. This study aimed to develop and assess the reliability and validity of a caregiver‐reported short dietary questionnaire to rapidly assess obesity‐related dietary behaviours in children aged 6 months to 5 years. The Early Prevention of Obesity in Childhood Dietary Questionnaire (EPOCH‐DQ) was developed using a rigorous process to determine content and structural validity. Three age‐appropriate versions were developed for (1) infants, aged 6–12 months, (2) toddlers, aged 1–2.9 years and (3) pre‐schoolers, aged 3–5 years. The questionnaire (7–15 items) measures dietary behaviours, including diet risk from non‐core food and beverage intake, diet quality from vegetable frequency, bread type and infant feeding practices. Test–retest reliability was assessed from repeated administrations 1 week apart (n = 126). Internal consistency, concurrent validity (against a comparison questionnaire, the InFANT Food Frequency Questionnaire), construct validity and interpretability were assessed (n = 209). Most scores were highly correlated and significantly associated (p < 0.05) for validity (rs: 0.45–0.89, percentage agreement 68%–100%) and reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.61–0.99) for diet risk, diet quality and feeding practice items. The EPOCH‐DQ shows acceptable validity and reliability for screening of obesity‐related behaviours of children under 5 years of age. The short length and, thus, low participant burden of the EPOCH‐DQ allows for potential applications in various settings. Future testing of the EPOCH‐DQ should evaluate culturally and socio‐economically diverse populations and establish the predictive validity and sensitivity to detect change. Key messages: Accurate measurement of obesity‐related dietary behaviours is essential for the evaluation of early obesity prevention programmes and monitoring population trends.The 7–15 item Early Prevention of Obesity in Childhood Dietary Questionnaire (EPOCH‐DQ) was shown to have acceptable validity and reliability for assessing obesity‐related behaviours of children aged 6 months to 5 years of age.The short length and thus low participant burden of the EPOCH‐DQ allows for potential applications in various settings, including research, population health monitoring and use by health professionals.Future testing of the EPOCH‐DQ should include evaluation across culturally and socio‐economically diverse populations and determine the predictive validity and sensitivity to detect change of the EPOCH‐DQ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: School food intake of Australian children is not comprehensively described in literature, with limited temporal, nationally representative data. Greater understanding of intake at school can inform school-based nutrition promotion. This study aimed to describe the dietary intake of primary-aged children during school hours and its contribution to daily intake. Design: This secondary analysis used nationally representative, cross-sectional data from the 2011 to 2012 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey. Dietary intake was assessed using validated 24-h dietary recalls on school days. Descriptive statistics were undertaken to determine energy, nutrients, food groups and food products consumed during school hours, as well as their contributions to total daily intake. Associations between school food intake and socio-demographic characteristics were explored. Setting: Australia. Participants: Seven hundred and ninety-five children aged 5–12 years. Results: Children consumed 37 % of their daily energy and 31–43 % of select nutrient intake during school hours, with discretionary choices contributing 44 % of school energy intake. Most children consumed less than one serve of vegetables, meat and alternatives or milk and alternatives during school hours. Commonly consumed products were discretionary choices (34 %, including biscuits, processed meat), bread (17 %) and fruit (12 %). There were limited associations with socio-economic position variables, apart from child age. Conclusions: Children's diets were not aligned with national recommendations, with school food characterised by high intake of discretionary choices. These findings are consistent with previous Australian evidence and support transformation of the Australian school food system to better align school food consumption with recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ninety per cent of Australian school children bring a home-packed lunch to school, with 44% of the food consumed during school hours being unhealthy. Among other factors, cost is a key consideration for food provision; however, the costs to Australian families are not well understood. Therefore, we aimed to determine what families are currently paying for school lunchboxes in Australian primary schools and to examine associations between food costs and socio-demographic factors with dietary quality. An audit of local retail outlets was used to determine the food costs of lunchbox contents. Costs (AUD) were adjusted for inflation as of early 2023. The lunchboxes of 1026 children aged 4-12 years at 12 Catholic primary schools in New South Wales, Australia, were assessed at the start of the day, using photography assessment methods and a validated School Food Checklist. The mean cost of lunchbox contents was $4.48 AUD (SD 1.53), containing a mean energy of 2699 kJ (SD 859), with 37.3% (SD 23.9) of energy sourced from unhealthy foods. Multiple linear regression analyses found that the strongest predictors of higher lunchbox cost (P < 0.05) were a higher proportion of energy from unhealthy foods (B = 0.016) and lower Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (B = -0.178), when controlling for child socio-demographics. The results indicated that lunchbox food costs to Australian families are comparable to alternative school food service models in Australia and internationally. Results demonstrate the cost of food is not the only barrier to providing a healthy school lunchbox. Demonstrating a need for cost-considerate systematic interventions addressing food provision challenges and socio-economic disparities faced by families., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)