Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Aug;126(2):e337-42.
doi: 10.1542/peds.2009-2391. Epub 2010 Jul 19.

Feeding symptoms, dietary patterns, and growth in young children with autism spectrum disorders

Alan Emond  1 , Pauline Emmett, Colin Steer, Jean Golding
Affiliations

Feeding symptoms, dietary patterns, and growth in young children with autism spectrum disorders

Alan Emond et al. Pediatrics. 2010 Aug.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the feeding, diet and growth of young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Method: Data on feeding and food frequency were collected by questionnaires completed at 6, 15, 24, 38 and 54 months by participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. A food variety score was created, and the content of the diet was calculated at 38 m. The feeding and dietary patterns of 79 children with ASD were compared with 12 901 controls.

Results: The median ages of ASD children were 28 months at referral and 45 months at diagnosis. ASD infants showed late introduction of solids after 6 months (p = .004) and were described as "slow feeders" at 6 months (p = .04). From 15-54 months ASD children were consistently reported to be "difficult to feed" (p < .001) and "very choosy" (p < .001). From 15 months, the ASD group had a less varied diet than controls, were more likely to have different meals from their mother from 24 months, and by 54 months 8% of ASD children were taking a special diet for "allergy." ASD children consumed less vegetables, salad and fresh fruit, but also less sweets and fizzy drinks. At 38 months intakes of energy, total fat, carbohydrate and protein were similar, but the ASD group consumed less vitamins C (p = .02) and D (p = .003). There were no differences in weight, height or BMI at 18 months and 7 years, or in hemoglobin concentrations at 7 years.

Conclusions: ASD children showed feeding symptoms from infancy and had a less varied diet from 15 months, but energy intake and growth were not impaired.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types