Many children are picky eaters but new research suggests the trait is even more common in autistic children who tend to refuse more foods and are more likely to restrict their diets to a smaller variety of foods than other children.
Many children are picky eaters but new research suggests the trait is even more common in autistic children who tend to refuse more foods and are more likely to restrict their diets to a smaller variety of foods than other children.
Autism is diagnosed in children who have limitations or difficulties in several key developmental areas such as language, communication, social interaction, and rigid behaviour. To know if children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have different eating habits, researchers enrolled 111 children aged 3 to 11 - 53 with ASD and 58 typically developing children. The children were weighed and measured. Parents were asked about their child's dietary habits and kept a food diary for three days. The act of selective eating was divided into three patterns - refusing certain foods, a limited variety or repertoire of foods consumed, and restricting consumption almost exclusively to one food item, which is eaten frequently throughout the day.
Picky eaters were found in both the ASD and typically developing children although the children with ASD displayed more food refusal and exhibited a more limited food repertoire. Contrary to popular perception, picky eating habits did not appear to be tied to a child's age. Levels of food refusal and food repertoire in typical children were similar across age groups. In addition, reports from only 4 of 53 parents of ASD children that their child ate a single food 4 or 5 times a day prompted the researchers to conclude this most extreme example of selective eating does not occur as commonly in children with ASDs as might be assumed based on anecdotal reports.
Although the number of children studied was small, the research suggested the greatest nutritional risk came not from refusing certain foods but rather from diets with a limited variety or repertoire of foods. Because autistic children in the study were more likely to limit the variety of foods they ate, a larger number of them came up short in requirements for vitamins A, C, D, as well as zinc, calcium and fiber compared to the typically developing kids.
More research is needed to study eating patterns over time to confirm whether food selectivity lasts into adulthood and in the same way in ASD and typically developing children, and what impact prolonged food selectivity has on nutritional status.
Autism is diagnosed in children who have limitations or difficulties in several key developmental areas such as language, communication, social interaction, and rigid behaviour. To know if children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have different eating habits, researchers enrolled 111 children aged 3 to 11 - 53 with ASD and 58 typically developing children. The children were weighed and measured. Parents were asked about their child's dietary habits and kept a food diary for three days. The act of selective eating was divided into three patterns - refusing certain foods, a limited variety or repertoire of foods consumed, and restricting consumption almost exclusively to one food item, which is eaten frequently throughout the day.
Picky eaters were found in both the ASD and typically developing children although the children with ASD displayed more food refusal and exhibited a more limited food repertoire. Contrary to popular perception, picky eating habits did not appear to be tied to a child's age. Levels of food refusal and food repertoire in typical children were similar across age groups. In addition, reports from only 4 of 53 parents of ASD children that their child ate a single food 4 or 5 times a day prompted the researchers to conclude this most extreme example of selective eating does not occur as commonly in children with ASDs as might be assumed based on anecdotal reports.
Although the number of children studied was small, the research suggested the greatest nutritional risk came not from refusing certain foods but rather from diets with a limited variety or repertoire of foods. Because autistic children in the study were more likely to limit the variety of foods they ate, a larger number of them came up short in requirements for vitamins A, C, D, as well as zinc, calcium and fiber compared to the typically developing kids.
More research is needed to study eating patterns over time to confirm whether food selectivity lasts into adulthood and in the same way in ASD and typically developing children, and what impact prolonged food selectivity has on nutritional status.
COMMENT
DoctorNDTV is the one stop site for all your health needs providing the most credible health information, health news and tips with expert advice on healthy living, diet plans, informative videos etc. You can get the most relevant and accurate info you need about health problems like diabetes, cancer, pregnancy, HIV and AIDS, weight loss and many other lifestyle diseases. We have a panel of over 350 experts who help us develop content by giving their valuable inputs and bringing to us the latest in the world of healthcare.
