Leong Scholar awarded the Top Clinical Nutrition Presentation
Kate Braddon, Registered Dietitian and Masters Student from the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children, and Leong Scholar, was recently awarded the “Top Clinical Nutrition Presentation” at the Department of Nutritional Sciences Research Day Poster Competition on October 20. She provides a summary of her poster presentation.
Risk factors for child development of obesogenic eating behaviours and food preferences are thought to begin during the preconception period. What is currently known about maternal BMI in the preconception period, is that a higher maternal BMI in preconception is associated to child obesity and adiposity. However, it was unknown if maternal preconception BMI is associated with nutritional risk factors (e.g. poor dietary intake and eating behaviours) in early childhood. Therefore, we aimed to determine whether maternal preconception BMI was associated with child nutritional risk. Our results found that a higher maternal preconception BMI was associated with higher nutritional risk. These findings support the hypothesis that the development of nutritional risk factors in children begin before conception. The study’s clinical significance is indicating that the preconception period may be an effective time to develop and test preventative interventions aiming to optimize children’s nutritional development.
Question: What does winning this award mean to you?
Answer: I am honoured to have received this award, which recognizes not only my contribution to this research, but also the many others who have been actively involved in supporting me with this study. Receiving the award to me, shows that other researchers also recognize the value and potential impact these findings can have on future child nutritional health and development.
