Studying Impact of Nutrition on Growth (SING): a prospective cohort for comparing the health outcomes of young children with the dietary quality score

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to explore the prospective association between the dietary quality (DQ) of preschoolers and their health status in Hong Kong, with the body mass index as the main outcome variable. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This prospective cohort study has recruited 3539 children aged between 2 and 4 years old, with a follow-up period of 4 years. Their diet was reported by their parents by a 3-day food diary, and their body weight and height were measured yearly with standardised instruments. Questionnaires were administered to parents to acquire information of the children’s prenatal development and dietary intake before their age of 2 years and of their baseline lifestyle and family backgrounds. The DQ was measured by the Healthy Eating Index as a continuous scale, while the exposure was defined as having a higher dietary quality score. Data were analysed using SPSS V.24. Linear and logistic regressions were used to examine the association of those predictive factors to the outcomes. Generalised estimating equations will be used to examine the longitudinal changes of the outcomes. A pilot study has been conducted, the preliminary results from which are presented in this cohort profile. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has been approved by the Joint Chinese University of Hong Kong and New Territory East Cluster Clinical Research Ethics Committee (CREC Ref No: 2013–632). Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects. The results will be published in due course.