Title

Food selectivity in a diverse sample of young children with and without intellectual disabilities

UMMS Affiliation

Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center; Department of Family Medicine and Community Health; Department of Psychiatry

Publication Date

2019-02-01

Document Type

Article

Disciplines

Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition | Disability Studies | Health Services Administration | Mental and Social Health | Nervous System Diseases | Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms | Pediatrics | Psychiatry and Psychology | Psychology

Abstract

Children with developmental concerns are more likely to be referred to feeding clinics for food selectivity than typically developing (TD) children. However, there is limited research on food selectivity in children with intellectual disabilities (ID). Fifty-nine TD children and 56 children with ID ages 3-8 years participated in the Children's Mealtime Study to compare food selectivity, conceptualized as food refusal and narrow food repertoire, among TD children and children with ID. Parents completed a 119-item food frequency questionnaire. Food refusal rate was calculated as the number of foods the child refused of those offered. Food repertoire, comprising the number of unique foods eaten, was determined from a 3-day food record. Compared to TD children, among children with ID the food refusal rate was significantly higher (28.5% vs. 15.7%) and mean food repertoire significantly narrower (20.7 vs. 24.2 unique foods) (p < 0.01). Approximately 10% of children with ID and approximately 4% of TD children reported eating no fruit on any of the three days of food intake recording, and approximately 10% of children with ID compared to approximately 2% of TD children reported no vegetable intake on any of the three days. In further analyses, we examined the two measures of food selectivity among children with both ID and probable autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (by the Autism Spectrum Rating Scale) compared to children with ID only and to TD children. Food selectivity appeared to be primarily attributable to those children who also had a probable diagnosis of ASD. These findings support the need for screening for food selectivity of children with ID, particularly those who also have ASD. Children who exhibit food selectivity should be referred for further evaluation and intervention.

Keywords

Children, Food refusal, Food selectivity, Intellectual disability, Nutrient adequacy, Vegetables

DOI of Published Version

10.1016/j.appet.2018.11.016

Source

Bandini LG, Curtin C, Eliasziw M, Phillips S, Jay L, Maslin M, Must A. Food selectivity in a diverse sample of young children with and without intellectual disabilities. Appetite. 2019 Feb 1;133:433-440. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2018.11.016. Epub 2018 Nov 20. PMID: 30468805; PMCID: PMC6625343. Link to article on publisher's site

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Appetite

Related Resources

Link to Article in PubMed

PubMed ID

30468805

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