Dietary patterns among a national sample of British children aged 1 1/2-4 1/2 years.

<bold>Objective: </bold>Using a nationally representative sample, to identify groups among British children aged 1 1/2-4 1/2 years who report similar patterns of diet.<bold>Design: </bold>Nationally representative dietary survey, using 4 d weighed dietary records, of girls and boys aged 1 1/2-4 1/2 years living in private households in Great Britain in 1992-1993. Cluster analysis was used to aggregate individuals into diet groups.<bold>Setting: </bold>Great Britain.<bold>Participants: </bold>Eight hundred and forty-eight boys and 827 girls.<bold>Results: </bold>Three clusters were identified for girls and three for boys. Among boys the most prevalent cluster was 'Healthy Diet' (52.3%), the second was 'Convenience Diet' (38.3%) and the third was 'Traditional Diet' (9.3%). Among girls, the most prevalent dietary cluster was 'Healthy Diet' (58.7%), followed by a 'Convenience Diet' (36.6%) and 'Traditional Diet' (4.3%). There were important differences in nutrient profile, sociodemographic and behavioural characteristics between clusters.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>Cluster analysis identified three groups among both girls and boys which differed not only in terms of reported dietary intake, but also with respect to nutrient intake, social and behavioural characteristics. The groups identified could provide a useful basis for the development, monitoring and targeting of public health nutrition policy for pre-school children in the UK. Further research is needed on the consequences for chronic disease in the future for these children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]