Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typically Developing Children: Comparison of Eating Behaviors and Parents’ Nutrition Knowledge

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to determine difference between the eating behaviors of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing children and nutritional knowledge of their parents. Method: This is a cross-sectional study that included typically developing children (n = 36) between the ages of 3 and 6 diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (n = 33) and their parents (n = 69). Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) was used, and the Nutrition Knowledge Level for Adults (NKLA) scale was used to assess parents' nutritional knowledge. To control for potential confounding effects in the analyses, demographic and anthropometric variables such as age, gender, height, weight and breastfeeding duration, as well as nutritional factors such as skipping main meals, amount of water consumption, bowel problems, picky eating behavior, problems during feeding, eating environment and who received the food were included as control variables. Results: Children with ASD exhibited lower snack consumption compared to typically developing children (p < 0.05). A higher percentage of children with ASD (69.7 %) experienced temper tantrums when unable to consume their preferred food compared to typically developing children (p < 0.05). The results of the CEBQ showed that children with ASD exhibited more emotional overeating behavior (p < 0.05). The parents of typically developing children had a higher level of education (p < 0.05). Parents of typically developing children scored higher than parents of autistic children on the rating question on the NKLA scale regarding the nutrition-health relationship (p < 0.05). Food frequency results showed that children with ASD consumed core food groups less frequently and had a higher daily intake of packaged products and beverages (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Children with autism spectrum disorder face more difficulties in nutrition than their typically developing peers. Considering the differences in the level of nutrition knowledge of parents, it would be beneficial to strengthen nutrition education programs especially for parents of children with ASD.