Universal subconstructs of a healthy diet for children and adolescents: A critical review

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Background To monitor diets among children and adolescents, a thorough understanding of the underlying subconstructs of a healthy diet is needed to inform what should be measured. Objective To identify universal subconstructs of a healthy diet for children and adolescents aged 2-19 years, understand alignment with subconstructs for adults, and inform recommendations for metrics that aim to monitor the healthiness of diets among children and adolescents at global and national levels. Methods A critical narrative review was carried out in three phases. Phase 1: a systematic review was conducted of literature published between 2014 and 2024. A subset of articles ( n =100) was purposefully sampled based on predefined characteristics. Then, content analysis was used to identify subconstructs of healthy diets. Phase 2: identified dietary subconstructs were compared to the six subconstructs for adults recognized by the Healthy Diets Monitoring Initiative (HDMI). Phase 3: identified subconstructs were compared to existing healthy diet metrics concurrently identified by HDMI as suitable for global monitoring of child and adolescent diets. Results Eight subconstructs specific to children and adolescents were identified: nutrient, energy, and food group requirements; foods and nutrients to limit or avoid; food group diversity and variety; macronutrient and energy balance; nutrient rich foods or food groups; food safety; eating frequency; and eating regularity. Compared to the six subconstructs of adult healthy diets identified by HDMI, two subconstructs differed in their operationalization and two child- and adolescent-specific subconstructs were considered not to be conceptually distinct. Diet metrics identified as suitable for global monitoring of child and adolescent diets reflect nutrient, energy, and food group requirements; foods and nutrients to limit or avoid; and food group diversity and variety but no other diet subconstructs. Conclusion Findings inform development and validation of healthy diet metrics for children and adolescents.