Food Selectivity in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Implications on a Nutritional and Behavioural Level
Margherita Prosperi, Jacopo Frinzi, Letizia Guiducci, Elisa Santocchi, Jessica Barsotti, Raffaella Tancredi, Sara Calderoni, Maria Aurora Morales, Fabio Apicella, Filippo Muratori
Several studies have shown that children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have atypical eating behaviours and that food selectivity (FS) is the most common among these. FS can have a negative impact on the psycho-physical development of the child, although its effects on behaviour are little known, with various and sometimes conflicting results. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of feeding problems, as well as the clinical characteristics associated with this condition in a sample of 91 children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) aged from 2 to 8 years. For this purpose, the parental questionnaire Brief Autism Mealtime Behavior Inventory (BAMBI) is used. The second aim is to explore possible correlations between FS, nutritional features, severity of autism, nonverbal cognitive skills, adaptive skills, behavioural problems, and motor and oral-motor abilities. FS is present in almost one-third of the sample (31.87%). Additionally, ASD children with FS (ASDfs+) have a higher impairment than ASD children without FS (ASDfs-) in terms of general motor and oral-motor coordination problems, emotional-behavioural problems and adaptive functioning on daily living skills. These results support the need for early identification of FS in ASD subjects, in order to plan interventions aimed at reducing its possible impact on adaptive functioning and behavioural problems.
Keywords
Autism spectrum disorder, Food selectivity, Feeding and eating disorders, Body Mass Index, ADOS.