Development of a short‐item diet quality questionnaire for Indigenous mothers and their young children: The Menzies remote short‐item dietary assessment tool

Abstract

The importance of a healthy diet in facilitating optimal childhood development and preventing chronic disease cannot be overstated. Despite this, unhealthy food patterns frequently occur as early as 9 months of age and continue through childhood. Australian Bureau of Statistics data indicate Indigenous Australian children to have particularly concerning dietary patterns, with children aged 2–3 years three times more likely to consume carbonated sugary drinks than their non‐Indigenous counterparts (18% versus 5.8%, respectively).1 Early intervention to prevent or improve obesity‐related behaviours can have a positive impact. The ability to improve dietary outcomes depends primarily on an accurate assessment of dietary intake. Data reliability and compliance issues common in dietary assessment are exacerbated when working with Indigenous Australians living remotely due to existing tools using inappropriate language, being resource‐intensive and not incorporating culturally diverse foods and serving methods. The aim of this research was to develop a short‐item questionnaire to assess the dietary quality of mothers and their young children (2–4 years) in the remote Indigenous community (RIC) setting for the Pregnancy and Adverse Neonatal Diabetes Outcomes in Remote Australia (PANDORA) longitudinal birth cohort study.2 PANDORA participants are Northern Territory women (both Indigenous and non‐Indigenous) with and without diabetes during pregnancy and their babies.