Early Childhood Dietary Assessment Study

This study is looking for children aged 2 to 5 years old to help researchers understand the best ways to measure what young children eat. It compares two methods: a traditional 24-hour dietary recall (where you report what your child ate over the past day) and an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA)-assisted 24-hour recall. EMA involves taking photos of your child's meals and snacks using a smartphone app. The goal is to see how easy these methods are to use, how accurately they capture food intake, and if they miss any foods. The study aims to enroll 40 participants, but its current status is unclear. To join, your child must not have food allergies, and you must have a smartphone and be able to identify another adult who can feed your child some study-provided meals.

Study design
This is a crossover randomized controlled trial, meaning participants will try both assessment methods. It plans to enroll 40 participants.
What's involved
You will provide your child with one meal and two snacks each day for three consecutive days. You will also complete a 24-hour dietary recall via telephone.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Usability and acceptability are measured upon completion of the EMA+24HR condition.

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NCT07227272

Early Childhood Dietary Assessment Study

Recruiting
NAAges 2–5Interventional
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
~40 participants
Updated 2026-06-08 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Ecological Momentary AssessmentTraditional 24-hour dietary recall

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Usability - EMA+24HR Proxy-Reporting Protocol
Measured over Upon completion of the EMA+24HR condition
+8 more outcomes measured
Dietary Assessment
1 sites across 1 states
Tennessee1

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

Adult caregiver ≥ 18 years old
Absence of food allergies or dietary restrictions for medical reasons (for the child)
Caregiver reports child likes at least 70% of the study-provided foods from the pre-defined list of food options
Caregiver has access to a smartphone device compatible with the EMA platform
Caregiver can identify a second adult caregiver with access to a smartphone device compatible with the EMA platform and willing to provide the child with study-provided foods for at least two eating occasions.

Exclusion

Caregiver unwilling to feed study-provided foods to their child
Caregiver unwilling to take pre-and-post photos of child's eating occasions
Caregiver unwilling or unable to identify a second adult caregiver meeting the eligibility criteria
Caregiver and child reside in a separate household for \> 2 days per week
Family resides \>25 miles outside of the Knoxville, Tennessee, metropolitan area.
  • Usability - EMA+24HR Proxy-Reporting ProtocolUpon completion of the EMA+24HR condition

    Usability of the proxy-reporting protocol for the EMA+24HR condition will be assessed using a self-reported questionnaire. Survey items will focus on adequacy of training and support received, experience communicating with other caregivers regarding what children consumed when they weren't with them, and experience completing the proxy-reported 24HR.

  • Acceptability - EMA+24HR Proxy-Reporting ProtocolUpon completion of the EMA+24HR condition

    Acceptability of the proxy-reporting protocol for the EMA+24HR condition will be assessed using a self-reported questionnaire. Survey items will focus on caregivers' satisfaction with training and support received, their experience communicating with other caregivers regarding what children consumed when they weren't with them, their experience completing the proxy-reported 24HR, and overall satisfaction.

  • Usability of EMA Online PlatformUpon completion of the EMA+24HR condition

    Usability of the online EMA platform will be assessed by comparing the number of pre- and post-photos collected to the self-reported eating occasions captured in the proxy-reported 24HR.

  • Usability - Interface of EMA PlatformUpon completion of the EMA+24HR condition

    The usability of the online EMA interface will be assessed using a self-report questionnaire by using the usefulness and interface quality subscales from the Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire.

  • Acceptability - Online EMA PlatformUpon completion of the EMA+24HR condition

    Four items from the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability (TFA) measure will be used to assess acceptability of the EMA platform, focusing on four constructs 1) affective attitudes, 2) burden, 3) self-efficacy, and 4) general acceptability.

  • Usability - Traditional 24HR Proxy-Reporting ProtocolUpon completion of the traditional 24HR condition

    Usability of proxy-reporting protocols for the traditional 24HR condition will be assessed using a self-reported questionnaire. Survey items will focus on adequacy of training and support received, experience communicating with other caregivers regarding what children consumed when they weren't with them, and experience completing the proxy-reported 24HR.

  • Acceptability - Traditional 24HR Proxy Reporting ProtocolUpon completion of the traditional 24HR condition

    Acceptability of the proxy-reporting protocol for the traditional 24HR condition will be assessed using a self-reported questionnaire. Survey items will focus on caregivers' satisfaction with training and support received, their experience communicating with other caregivers regarding what children consumed when they weren't with them, their experience completing the proxy-reported 24HR, and overall satisfaction.

  • Dietary Misreporting - EMA+24HR ConditionUpon completion of the EMA+24HR condition

    Frequency of dietary misreporting (i.e., time-misreporting, omissions, intrusions, description and amount misreporting) will be assessed in the EMA+24HR by comparison of self-reported dietary assessment to photos uploaded to the EMA platform.

  • Dietary Misreporting - Traditional 24HR ConditionUpon completion of the traditional 24HR condition.

    Frequency of omissions will be assessed in the traditional 24HR condition using pre-post food weights to proxy-reported intake from the primary caregiver.