Comparison of Eating Behaviours, Anthropometric Measures, and Malnutrition Risk in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Developmental Disabilities.

PURPOSE: This study examined differences in eating behaviours, anthropometric indicators, and malnutrition risk among children aged 5-16 years with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities (DD), including Down syndrome, developmental language disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

METHODS

This study was carried out using a cross-sectional design and included 220 children attending special education and rehabilitation centres: 97 autistic children (girls: 26, boys: 71) and 123 children with other developmental disabilities (DD; girls: 44, boys: 79). The DD group comprised children with Down syndrome (n = 52, 42.3%), developmental language disorder (n = 58, 47.2%), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n = 13, 10.6%).

RESULTS

Autistic children differed from children with other developmental disabilities in both growth patterns and eating behaviour profiles. Height-for-age z-scores were higher in children with ASD than in those with Down syndrome (DS) and developmental language disorder (DLD) (p=.01). Autistic children showed higher Food Fussiness scores than children with DS (p<.05). Associations between eating behaviours and BMI-for-age varied according to diagnostic group (all interaction p<.05). In other developmental disability groups, eating behaviours also varied according to BMI-for-age categories and malnutrition risk (p<.05). Among autistic children, malnutrition risk was associated with higher Food Responsiveness and Slowness in Eating scores (p<.05).

CONCLUSION

This study showed that eating behaviours, anthropometric measurements, and malnutrition risk vary among children with ASD and diagnostically distinct developmental disability subgroups, underscoring the importance of individualised, diagnosis-informed nutritional assessment and monitoring.