Diet diversity
Diet diversity is the number of different foods, food groups or food
allergens eaten over time, such as the first year of life. Recently
there has been considerable interest in the effect of infant diet
diversity in preventing allergic diseases. A task force report from the
European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
(EAACI)148 suggested
that increased diet diversity in infancy may reduce the risk of
developing allergic diseases such as asthma, AD, allergic rhinitis or FA
in later childhood. Two observational studies, have shown increased diet
diversity in the first year of life to be associated with reduced FA by
six147 and
ten149 years. Using
data from Europe and the UK, these observational studies suggest that
early oral intake of a variety of foods and food allergens, once the
infant is developmentally ready, may reduce the incidence of FA in the
first 10 years of life. Studies focusing on diet diversity in infancy
and AD in childhood are however less clear. One study found both an
increased risk and no effect on AD outcomes at different
timepoints.150 Another
study reported a preventative effect and no effect at different time
points.150,151Three studies found both an increased
risk152,153and a preventative
effect154-156 of
increased diet diversity on AD outcomes in childhood.