The April issue of the Journal of Pediatrics reports on the rate of picky eating in children with autism compared to a control group without autism. The Children's Activity and Meal Patterns Study (CHAMPS)included 53 children with autism and 58 children without autism. A food diary was kept for 3 days and parents answered a questionnaire about food habits. The authors reported that children with autism "displayed more food refusal and exhibited a more limited food repertoire". Picky eating habits were not correlated with the child's age. Only 4 of the 53 children with autism exhibited extreme eating habits defined as "restricting food consumption to almost exclusively to one item eaten throughout the day". The researchers found that a nutritional risk existed from eating a limited repertoire of foods instead of food refusal. The autistic children exhibited a lack of vitamins A, C, D and zinc when compared to the control group.
Reference: Myers Lowe, Rachael. Nutritional risks of picky eating may be higher in autism Retrieved from the web on 4/17/2010 at http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63F4SF20100416?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FhealthNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Health+News%29
1 comment:
This report looks to be a good design with meaningful results. Thanks for sharing, Margaret.
Barbara
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