Abstract Nutrition in childhood has an important effect on health in adulthood. To examine the diet-growth relationship, it is necessary to carry out a comprehensive and objective evaluation of diet quality in children and to develop effective nutrition intervention programs, so as to improve children s health. This paper summarizes the characteristics and application of current methods of collecting dietary intake information and evaluating dietary quality, and proposes several suggestions related to the development of the children s diet quality assessment system in China.

As food preferences and eating habits form early in life, the development of healthy eating habits in early childhood is a way to prevent diet-related diseases. The dietary pattern approach examines the effect of an overall diet on health outcomes, instead of individual foods or nutrients, thereby presenting a comprehensive evaluation of children's dietary intake. This article reviews the current literature to summarize the main methods for assessing dietary patterns and explore relationships between children's dietary patterns and obesity, puberty onset, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodevelopment. The purpose of this review is to provide evidence-based support for reducing the risk of diet-related diseases in children and recommendations for future research directions.
Child ; Child, Preschool ; Diet ; Eating ; Feeding Behavior ; Food Preferences ; Humans ; Obesity/prevention & control*