Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Child Nutrition
A healthy diet helps children grow and learn. It also helps prevent obesity and weight-related diseases, such as diabetes. To give your child a nutritious diet:
- Make half of what is on your child's plate fruits and vegetables
- Choose healthy sources of protein, such as lean meat, nuts, and eggs
- Serve whole-grain breads and cereals because they are high in fiber. Reduce refined grains.
- Broil, grill, or steam foods instead of frying them
- Limit fast food and junk food
- Offer water or milk instead of sugary fruit drinks and sodas
Learn about your children's nutrient requirements. Some of them, such as the requirements for iron and calcium, change as your child ages.
It sits within Children and Teenagers and Food and Nutrition.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Child Nutrition
2,096 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Non-Invasive Diagnostic Panel for MASLD in Children With ObesityKayseri City Hospital
- OBE2026 - Effect of One Year Intensive Lifestyle Treatment in Children With ISO-BMI Over 30kg/m² and Their Families.Tampere University Hospital
- Fruit and Vegetable Study - PilotArizona State University
- A Multifaceted Intervention to Reduce Obesity Among Preschool Children: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial in Suzhou CitySoochow University
- Clinical Trial of "Exploradores de Sabores" to Improve Food Selectivity in ASD KidsUniversidad Autonoma de Baja California
- Enhancing Intergenerational Health in Nigeria: Peripartum as Critical Life Stage for Cardiovascular HealthWashington University School of Medicine
Research already completed
- The Relationship Between Activity Energy Expenditure and Body Composition in School-age ChildrenHuijuan Ruan
- Dyad Plus Effectiveness/FeasibilityWake Forest University Health Sciences
- Effect of Short-Term Beta-Cell Rest in Adolescents and Young Adults With Type 2 Diabetes MellitusNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
- Starting Early to Prevent Obesity Using Telehealth (StEP OUT): Intervention Development TrialNorthwell Health
- Metabolic Rate, Eating Habits, and Eating Disorder Risk in Young Sport ClimbersWroclaw Medical University
- Effect of Tailored Nutrition Plan Intervention on Children in Food Insecure Households.Kasr El Aini Hospital
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Healthy EatingNemours Foundation
- Helping Your Child: Tips for Parents and Other CaregiversNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- Nutrition for Kids: Guidelines for a Healthy DietMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Diagnosis and Tests
- Prealbumin Blood TestNational Library of Medicine
Related Issues
- 10 Things To Know About Dietary Supplements for Children and TeensNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
- Are Sugar Substitutes Safe for Kids?Nemours Foundation
- Better Nutrition Every Day: How to Make Healthier Food ChoicesNational Institutes of Health
- Feeding Your Child AthleteNemours Foundation
- Healthy Breakfasts for Kids: It's All about BalanceFood and Drug Administration
- Healthy Snacks: Quick Tips for ParentsOffice of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
- How to Add Balance to a Favorite MealNemours Foundation
- How to Make a Healthy SnackNemours Foundation
- Nutrition Facts -- Read the Label: Tips for ParentsFood and Drug Administration
Statistics and Research
- Beverage Consumption Among Youth in the United States, 2013-2016National Center for Health Statistics
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Child NutritionNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Child Nutrition DisordersNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Child Nutrition Disorders, Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Child Nutrition, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.