Tomorrow, 21 January, Viyan Rashid will defend her doctoral dissertation at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her research focuses on the eating habits of young children and the influence of background and living environment on their health.
PhD Defence
The defence is open to everyone and can be attended both on location and online.
More information: https://vu.nl/nl/agenda/2026/promotie-v-rashid
Researcher Background
Rashid is a dietitian and nutrition scientist and has worked for nearly sixteen years as a lecturer‑researcher in the Nutrition and Dietetics programme at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Her interest in child nutrition and health inequalities motivated her to apply for an NWO Teacher Grant, which enabled her to pursue her PhD research.
Research within the ABCD Study
The PhD research was conducted as part of the ABCD Study, a large-scale Amsterdam cohort study in which children are followed from pregnancy onwards. Within this framework, Rashid examined the eating behaviour and weight development of children in Amsterdam.
Eating Patterns of Young Children
The study shows that five‑year‑old children display several types of eating patterns, ranging from healthy to unhealthy, from traditional to patterns focused mainly on full‑fat or low‑fat products. Despite this variation, the overall dietary intake of many children does not meet current nutritional guidelines.
Differences Between Groups of Children
Rashid found that children from families with fewer financial resources, lower‑educated parents, or a non‑Dutch background are more likely to eat unhealthily. The mother’s educational level emerged as the strongest predictor of an unhealthy eating pattern.
Unexpected Links with Weight
A notable finding is that a healthy or low‑fat eating pattern does not always correspond with lower weight gain. In some groups, children with such patterns actually gained more weight. Children who consumed full‑fat products more frequently sometimes gained less weight. These results illustrate that the relationship between diet and growth is more complex than commonly assumed.
Influence of the Living Environment
The neighbourhood in which children grow up also plays an important role. In areas with lower socioeconomic status—where fast‑food outlets are more common and advertising for unhealthy foods is more prevalent—unhealthy snacking patterns occur more frequently.
Implications for Policy and Future Research
The study highlights the importance of promoting healthy eating habits and healthy weight development, particularly among children from vulnerable groups. It also emphasises the need to improve the food environment in which children grow up. Further research is needed to better understand the unexpected associations between different eating patterns and weight gain.