Research

The science behind every Miriel recommendation.

We don't make this up. Every nutrition decision Miriel suggests is rooted in pediatric clinical research and established public-health guidelines. This page lists the work we draw on.

Growth references

Miriel uses internationally recognised growth standards to interpret a child's weight, height, and BMI percentile in age- and sex-appropriate context. Under age 2, we follow the WHO standards. After age 2, we use CDC charts for US-resident children and Korean growth standards for Korean children.

WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group WHO Child Growth Standards. World Health Organization, 2006.
Kuczmarski RJ, Ogden CL, Guo SS, et al. 2000 CDC Growth Charts for the United States: Methods and Development. Vital and Health Statistics, Series 11, No. 246, 2002.
Korea Centers for Disease Control and Korean Pediatric Society 2017 Korean Children and Adolescents Growth Standard. Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2017.
American Academy of Pediatrics Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 4th Edition. American Academy of Pediatrics, 2017.

Nutrient requirements

Daily nutrient targets — energy, protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals — come from the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) published by the US National Academies, the Korean Dietary Reference Intakes (KDRI), and WHO/FAO joint recommendations. Targets are age- and stage-specific; we do not scale adult values down for children.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) Tables. National Academies Press.
Ministry of Health and Welfare; Korean Nutrition Society Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans (KDRI 2020). Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2020.
World Health Organization; Food and Agriculture Organization Vitamin and Mineral Requirements in Human Nutrition (2nd ed.). WHO/FAO.
World Health Organization Guideline: Sugars Intake for Adults and Children. WHO, 2015.

Allergen handling

Allergen safety is a non-negotiable layer in every recommendation. Miriel's defaults align with current consensus on early allergen introduction (LEAP, EAT, LEAP-On) and with NIAID guidance on peanut introduction in high-risk infants. Allergen logic always takes precedence over preference or convenience.

Du Toit G, Roberts G, Sayre PH, et al. Randomized trial of peanut consumption in infants at risk for peanut allergy (LEAP). New England Journal of Medicine, 2015.
Perkin MR, Logan K, Tseng A, et al. Randomized trial of introduction of allergenic foods in breast-fed infants (EAT). New England Journal of Medicine, 2016.
Du Toit G, Sayre PH, Roberts G, et al. Effect of avoidance on peanut allergy after early peanut consumption (LEAP-On). New England Journal of Medicine, 2016.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Addendum guidelines for the prevention of peanut allergy in the United States. NIAID, 2017.

Feeding behavior

The behavioural framework Miriel applies to picky eating, food jags, and the parent–child feeding relationship draws on the Satter Division of Responsibility and decades of feeding-behaviour research from Leann Birch, Jane Wardle, and colleagues. We treat repeated low-pressure exposure as the evidence-based standard, not bribery, hiding, or short-order cooking.

Satter E. The Satter Division of Responsibility in Feeding. Ellyn Satter Institute.
Birch LL, Marlin DW. I don't like it; I never tried it: Effects of exposure on two-year-old children's food preferences. Appetite, 1982.
Wardle J, Carnell S, Cooke L. Parental control over feeding and children's fruit and vegetable intake: how are they related?. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2005.
American Academy of Pediatrics Picky Eaters and Food Selectivity: Clinical Guidance for Pediatricians. AAP.

AI methodology

Miriel's recommendations are produced by a layered set of pediatric nutrition rules and AI models. Each layer cross-references parent-declared profile data — age, allergies, growth stage, dietary preferences, declared medical conditions — against the standards listed above.

Safety constraints (allergens, age-appropriate choking-hazard rules, medical-condition exclusions) are evaluated strictly and take precedence over preferences. Preference, taste, and cuisine adaptation operate within whatever space safety allows.

The specific implementation — model selection, prompt design, and internal weighting — evolves with the research and is not disclosed in detail, both because the techniques are part of how we differentiate, and because publishing them invites narrow reverse-engineering at the expense of safety. What we do commit to is that every public recommendation can be traced back to one or more of the references on this page.

What Miriel does not do

— Miriel is not a substitute for a pediatrician or a registered dietitian.
— Miriel does not diagnose medical conditions, allergies, or feeding disorders.
— Miriel does not replace allergy testing or clinical workup of growth concerns.
— Miriel does not provide medical or clinical advice; recommendations are educational and operational, not prescriptive.

For partners and clinicians

If you are a pediatrician, registered dietitian, school nutrition program, or academic researcher and would like to discuss Miriel's clinical framing, validation, or partnership, we welcome the conversation.