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. 2022 Sep 21;10(10):1829.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare10101829.

Eating Patterns in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Danay Ahumada  1   2 , Barbara Guzmán  1 , Soledad Rebolledo  1 , Karol Opazo  1 , Luis Marileo  3   4 , Solange Parra-Soto  5   6   7 , Sharon Viscardi  4   8   9
Affiliations

Eating Patterns in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Danay Ahumada et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

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.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder; eating patterns; food selectivity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study, in the collection, analyses or interpretation of data, in the writing of the manuscript or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA) based on the preference of children on sensitive attributes of their food (selectivity, color, flavor, taste, texture, temperature).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA) based on the preference of children for the food groups evaluated.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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