Diet History

Description
Parents and caregivers are interviewed to determine a child's usual intake and feeding history. The clinician asks parents about early feeding history (e.g., breastfeeding, type of formula, problems with feeding, introduction of solids) and about the child's current food pattern.

A diet history can be used in combination with a 24-hour recall, food record, or food frequency questionnaire to obtain a fair picture of a child's nutritional intake. Food models, measuring cups, and other visual aids can be useful in helping families to estimate portion sizes.

Strengths

• Provides information about a child's feeding history
• Includes information about intake, feeding skills, and eating environment

Limitations

• Time-consuming
• Interviewer must gain the confidence of the person providing information and be able to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of the answers
• When a diet history is used alone, a child's intake is often overestimated