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Nutritional DisordersTARGetKids!NCT01869530

TARGet Kids!: Measuring Nutrition in Young Preschool Children in the Primary Care Practice Setting

An observational study of Nutritional Disorders and Obesity, run by The Hospital for Sick Children at 3 sites in Canada.

Recruiting

Looking for participants now. Contact the study team or a site below to ask about taking part.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial summary

TARGet Kids! (The Applied Research Group for Kids) is a research study enrolling healthy children aged 0-5 years. The aim of the TARGet Kids! registry is to link early life exposures to health problems including obesity, micronutrient deficiencies, and developmental problems. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages Up to 5 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Nutritional Disorders, Obesity, Development
How many people
14,000 participants
Where
3 sitesCanada
Study dates
Jul 2008to Jun 2030
How long will I take part?
10 Years
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages Up to 5 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child

Study population: Children are recruited from 12 pediatric and family medicine primary care practices in Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Who may be able to join

  • Birth to less than 6 years of age
  • Parental consent
  • Attending a TARGet Kids! research network practice

Who cannot join

  • Chronic illness with the exception of asthma

Trial locations and contacts

3 sites in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

Catherine Birken, MD, M.Sc., FRCPC contact

416-813-7654 ext. 302129

catherine.birken@sickkids.ca

Dalah Mason, MPH contact

416-813-7654 ext. 302129

dalah.mason@sickkids.ca

Canada3 sites, 3 recruiting

  • Melville Pediatric Center

    Montreal, Quebec

    Patricia Li, MD

    Elise Mok, MD

    Recruiting

  • St. Michael's Hospital

    Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1W8

    Jonathon Maguire, MD, MSc, FRCPC, 416-919-3462, jonathon.maguire@utoronto.ca

    Jonathon L Maguire, MD, MSc

    Recruiting

  • Hospital for Sick Children

    Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X8

    Catherine Birken, MD, M.Sc., FRCPC, 416-813-7654 ext. 301544, catherine.birken@sickkids.ca

    Dalah Mason, MPH, 416-813-7654 ext. 302129, dalah.mason@sickkids.ca

    Recruiting

Other trials in Canada

About this study

TARGet Kids! (The Applied Research Group for Kids) is a research study enrolling healthy children aged 0-5 years. The aim of the TARGet Kids! registry is to link early life exposures to health problems including obesity, micronutrient deficiencies, and developmental problems.

TARGet Kids! represents an innovative collaboration between child health researchers and children's primary care doctors (pediatricians and family physicians) to promote research that really matters and create solutions to some of the today's biggest health concerns. The results of this collaborative research study are not only improving the quality of children's healthcare but also the health of children across the country. Coordinated by Sick Kids and St. Michael's Hospital with data management services by the Applied Health Research Centre (AHRC), TARGet Kids! is the only primary care research network for children in Canada.

Medical subject headings
Nutrition Disorders, Obesity

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

Study groups in NCT01869530
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Healthy childrenNot described

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Body Mass Index (BMI)

    Change in BMI over a 10 year follow-up period

    Measured: 10 years (yearly measurements)

Secondary outcomes (8)

  1. Nutrition

    Nutritional risk

    Measured: Yearly measurements

  2. Development

    Child development

    Measured: Yearly measurements

  3. Mental Health

    Mental Health

    Measured: Yearly measurements

  4. Lifestyle Factors

    Assessment of Lifestyle Factors that contribute to health

    Measured: Yearly measurements

  5. Child Behavior

    Child behavior

    Measured: Yearly measurements

  6. Social Determinants

    Social determinants of health

    Measured: Yearly measurements

  7. Education

    Nutritional factors affects on education

    Measured: Yearly measurements

  8. Parenting

    Parenting styles

    Measured: Yearly measurements

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted5 Jun 2013 (estimated)
  2. Study startJul 2008
  3. Primary completionJun 2030 (estimated)
  4. Study completionJun 2030 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrolment
14,000 participants (estimated)
Target duration
10 Years
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01869530
Sponsor's protocol ID
2063
Acronym
TARGetKids!
Status last verified
Nov 2021
First submitted
28 May 2013
Last updated
17 Nov 2021
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Publications

  • Yoshida-Montezuma Y, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Jamnik J, Smith BT, Pabayo R, Kinlin LM, Vanderloo LM, Omand J, Maguire JL, Birken CS, Anderson LN. Changes in obesity and waist circumference in children and parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sci Rep. 2026 Jun 20. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-57151-8. Online ahead of print.

    PubMed 42321251

  • Borkhoff CM, Imsirovic H, Bayoumi I, Macarthur C, Nurse KM, To T, Feldman M, Lau E, Knight B, Birken CS, Maguire JL, Parkin PC. Developmental screening at 18 months using the Nipissing District Developmental Screen. Paediatr Child Health. 2025 May 11;30(6):477-485. doi: 10.1093/pch/pxaf023. eCollection 2025 Sep.

    PubMed 41049705

  • Kucab MD, Keown-Stoneman CD, Birken CS, Perlman M, Parsons J, D'Annunzio D, Thadani S, Allen CA, Maguire JL; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Center-Based Childcare in Early Childhood and Nutritional Risk in Later Childhood: A Prospective Cohort Study. J Nutr. 2025 Dec;155(12):4530-4539. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.09.028. Epub 2025 Sep 27.

    PubMed 41022151

  • Nurse KM, Parkin PC, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Bayoumi I, Birken CS, Maguire JL, Macarthur C, Borkhoff CM. Association Between Family Income and Positive Developmental Screening Using the Infant Toddler Checklist at the 18-Month Health Supervision Visit. J Pediatr. 2024 Jan;264:113769. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2023.113769. Epub 2023 Nov 1.

    PubMed 37821023

  • Palumbo AM, Kirkwood D, Borkhoff CM, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Muraca GM, Fuller A, Birken CS, Maguire JL, Brown HK, Anderson LN; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Validation of Parent-reported Gestational Age Categories for Children Less Than 6 Years of Age. Epidemiology. 2023 Nov 1;34(6):767-773. doi: 10.1097/EDE.0000000000001645. Epub 2023 Sep 26.

    PubMed 37757868

  • Braddon KE, Keown-Stoneman CD, Dennis CL, Li X, Maguire JL, O'Connor DL, Omand JA, Simpson JR, Birken CS. Maternal Preconception Body Mass Index and Early Childhood Nutritional Risk. J Nutr. 2023 Aug;153(8):2421-2431. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.06.022. Epub 2023 Jun 24.

    PubMed 37356500

  • Kucab MD, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Birken CS, Perlman M, Maguire JL; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Centre-based childcare in early childhood and growth in later childhood: a prospective cohort study. Int J Obes (Lond). 2023 Aug;47(8):724-731. doi: 10.1038/s41366-023-01316-2. Epub 2023 Apr 27.

    PubMed 37106078

  • Omand JA, Li X, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Borkhoff CM, Duku E, Lebovic G, Maguire JL, Mamdani MM, Parkin PC, Reid-Westoby C, Randall Simpson J, Tremblay MS, Janus M, Birken CS; TARGet Kids! Study Group. Body Weight at Age Four Years and Readiness to Start School: A Prospective Cohort Study. Child Obes. 2023 Jun;19(4):267-281. doi: 10.1089/chi.2022.0018. Epub 2022 Jul 13.

    PubMed 35834646

  • Omand JA, Janus M, Maguire JL, Parkin PC, Aglipay M, Randall Simpson J, Keown-Stoneman CDG, Duku E, Reid-Westoby C, Birken CS. Nutritional Risk in Early Childhood and School Readiness. J Nutr. 2021 Dec 3;151(12):3811-3819. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxab307.

    PubMed 34587245

  • Hamid JS, Atenafu EG, Borkhoff CM, Birken CS, Maguire JL, Bohn MK, Adeli K, Abdelhaleem M, Parkin PC. Reference intervals for hemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume in an ethnically diverse community sample of Canadian children 2 to 36 months. BMC Pediatr. 2021 May 19;21(1):241. doi: 10.1186/s12887-021-02709-w.

    PubMed 34011305

  • Bayoumi I, Birken CS, Nurse KM, Parkin PC, Maguire JL, Macarthur C, Randall Simpson JA, Borkhoff CM. Screening for marginal food security in young children in primary care. BMC Pediatr. 2021 Apr 23;21(1):196. doi: 10.1186/s12887-021-02674-4.

    PubMed 33892660

  • Gunaseelan V, Parkin PC, Wahi G, Birken CS, Maguire JL, Macarthur C, Borkhoff CM; Members of the TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Maternal ethnicity and iron status in early childhood in Toronto, Canada: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Paediatr Open. 2020 Apr 6;4(1):e000635. doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000635. eCollection 2020.

    PubMed 32509978

  • Birken CS, Omand JA, Nurse KM, Borkhoff CM, Koroshegyi C, Lebovic G, Maguire JL, Mamdani M, Parkin PC, Randall Simpson J, Tremblay MS, Duku E, Reid-Westoby C, Janus M; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Fit for School Study protocol: early child growth, health behaviours, nutrition, cardiometabolic risk and developmental determinants of a child's school readiness, a prospective cohort. BMJ Open. 2019 Nov 19;9(11):e030709. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030709.

    PubMed 31748293

  • Parkin PC, Koroshegyi C, Mamak E, Borkhoff CM, Birken CS, Maguire JL, Thorpe KE; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. Association between Serum Ferritin and Cognitive Function in Early Childhood. J Pediatr. 2020 Feb;217:189-191.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.09.051. Epub 2019 Nov 2.

    PubMed 31685227

  • Wong VCH, Maguire JL, Omand JA, Dai DWH, Lebovic G, Parkin PC, O'Connor DL, Birken CS; TARGet Kids! Collaboration. A Positive Association Between Dietary Intake of Higher Cow's Milk-Fat Percentage and Non-High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Young Children. J Pediatr. 2019 Aug;211:105-111.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.03.047. Epub 2019 May 17.

    PubMed 31104850

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Nutritional Disorders and Obesity, run by The Hospital for Sick Children at 3 sites in Canada.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 17 Nov 2021. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 3 sites in Canada. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Catherine Birken, MD, M.Sc., FRCPC (416-813-7654 ext. 302129, catherine.birken@sickkids.ca), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Body Mass Index (BMI) (time frame: 10 years (yearly measurements)). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT01869530, which also lists 21 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 17 Nov 2021.

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