Eating patterns in children with autism spectrum disorder

Ahumada, D., Guzmán, B., Rebolledo, S., Opazo, K., Marileo, L., Parra-Soto, S. and Viscardi, S. (2022) Eating patterns in children with autism spectrum disorder. Healthcare, 10(10), 1829. (doi: 10.3390/healthcare10101829) (PMID:36292276) (PMCID:PMC9601475)

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to analyze the eating patterns of preschool- and school-aged children with ASD, as provided by their families, in the La Araucanía Region of Chile. It involved a cross-sectional study with 72 families with children diagnosed with ASD aged between 2 and 12 years old. Food selectivity, appetite, body mass index (BMI) and frequency of food consumption were studied. The research determined that 97.67% present food selectivity, corresponding to alterations in the frequency of consumption of specific food groups. Moreover, 93.06%, 90.28%, 80.56% and 62.50% of children in the study do not meet the daily recommendations for fruit, fish, water and vegetable consumption, respectively. Therefore, it is important for these findings to be considered when designing and carrying out educational interventions regarding food in families with children with ASD for greater assertiveness and effectiveness in improving health.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research was supported by Project number VIPUCT2019PROSV05, funded by Universidad Católica de Temuco, Chile.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Parra, Solange

Creator Roles

Parra-Soto, S.: Methodology, Validation, Writing – review and editing

• Authors: Ahumada, D., Guzmán, B., Rebolledo, S., Opazo, K., Marileo, L., Parra-Soto, S., and Viscardi, S.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Public Health
• Journal Name: Healthcare
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2227-9032
• ISSN (Online): 2227-9032
• Published Online: 21 September 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Healthcare 10(10): 1829
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License