Improving children's dairy food and calcium intake: can intervention work? A systematic review of the literature

Abstract

Objective: Strategies are needed to address the shortfall in children's dairy food and Ca intakes. The present review identified interventions targeting an increase in children's dairy food or Ca intakes, and determined characteristics associated with successful intervention. Design: A systematic literature search identified fourteen intervention studies, published in English, between 1990 and 2010. Studies were evaluated for study population, setting and mode of delivery, dietary targets and outcome measures, measures of intervention intensity, intervention description, the use of behaviour change techniques and intervention effectiveness. Setting: Interventions targeting an increase in dairy food or Ca intake. Subjects: Children aged 5-12 years. Results: Ten of the fourteen studies were considered to be effective. Studies focusing on encouraging intake of dairy foods or Ca alone were all effective, compared with 55 % of studies promoting dairy within the context of a healthy diet. Effective interventions tended to be higher in intensity, provide dairy foods and were delivered across a variety of settings to a range of primary targets. The number of behaviour change techniques used did not differentiate effective and ineffective interventions, but the use of taste exposure and prompting practice appeared to be important for effective intervention. Conclusions: Interventions that target an increase in children's dairy food or Ca intake could potentially increase children's dairy food intake by about one serving daily. Research conducted outside the USA is needed. The review has identified some promising strategies likely to be part of effective interventions for improving dairy and Ca intakes in countries where children's intake is insufficient.

Perceptions of How Parents of Early Adolescents Will Personally Benefit From Calcium-Rich Food and Beverage Parenting Practices

“…Behavior change strategies intended to improve dairy food and calcium intakes among early adolescent children were identified in a review of intervention studies. 17 These studies evaluated effectiveness of the strategies within an intervention, 17 however, motivation for engaging in the specific parenting practices was not explored. For example, nutritionists made milk available to Chilean children (8-10 years) through weekly home deliveries, provided instructions to parents about how children were to consume the milk, and encouraged parents to remove sugar-sweetened beverages from the home.…”

Changes in Dairy Food and Nutrient Intakes in Australian Adolescents

“…Increasing intake of dairy products will help improve intakes of a range of important nutrients, particularly calcium and magnesium that were especially lacking compared to recommended intakes in our subject group. A recent review identified taste exposure and prompting practice as important strategies utilised in effective interventions to increase calcium or dairy intake, along with concentrated delivery across a variety of settings [58]. …”

Interventions to Increase Dairy Consumption in Adolescents

“…This review is limited to studies targeting adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, as this is a crucial period of growth, and a period of dietary self-efficacy development. This analysis will complement the systematic review of dietary interventions to increase dairy consumption among children (aged up to 12 years), by Hendrie et al 2 Results of this review will facilitate the development of interventions that target adolescents, with the goals of combating insufficient dairy intake.…”