Feeding problems have been estimated to occur in approximately 25–45% of normally developing children. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of feeding problems in typically developing young children in Greece. Child feeding behavior, parents’ feelings about their child’s feeding patterns, and parental feeding practices were also explored. Parents completed the Greek version of the Behavioral Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS). Data on 742 healthy, typically developing children aged two to seven years are presented. Overall, the majority of children in the sample showed high frequency of desirable mealtime behaviors and low frequency of undesirable mealtime behaviors. However, a significant proportion of the cohort presented with food neophobia and low consumption of vegetables. When applying test cut-off scores, it was found that 8.2% of the sample had abnormal Total Frequency Score (TFS) and 26.6% had abnormal Total Problem Score (TPS). The study showed that parent-reported feeding problems are quite common in children of typical development in Greece. Moreover, while the majority of the sample displayed a high frequency of favorable behaviors, specific child feeding behaviors are amenable to improvement.
Key Clinical MessageFood protein‐induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) is a non‐IgE‐mediated gastrointestinal food hypersensitivity disorder, typically provoked by cow's milk or soy in formula‐fed infants. This case shows that diagnosis of FPIES should be suspected in exclusively breast‐fed infants and pediatricians should be suspicious of this in infants with shock and sepsis.
Parental feeding practices significantly influence child eating behavior. The data for this article was from a cross-sectional case control larger study that aimed to record parental practices to manage feeding problems in children with typical development and children with gastrointestinal diseases. A set of 23 Likert-type questions was used to investigate parental practices. Demographic and anthropometric data were obtained via a structured set of questions. In total 765 parents of healthy children and 136 parents of children with gastrointestinal diseases aged one to seven years participated in the study. Healthy controls were recruited from kindergartens located in various geographical areas in Greece. Children with gastrointestinal diseases were recruited from a Pediatric Gastroenterology Outpatient Clinic. Descriptive measures (i.e. frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations) alongside with statistical analysis measures are presented in this article. Chi-square tests and U-tests were performed for the purpose of the comparison between the two groups. Spearman's rho correlation coefficient was also calculated for inter-item correlations among the 23-items of the questionnaire.
Objectives:
Previous research has shown that critical periods of feeding skills development exist and feeding problems can arise in children due to delays in attaining feeding developmental milestones. This study aims to delineate the transitional process of feeding development in healthy children and children with gastrointestinal diseases (GID) and to examine the relationship between feeding milestones and the appearance of later feeding problems.
Methods:
A cross-sectional case–control study among 711 healthy Greek children and 119 children with GID, aged two-to-seven years. Parents completed the Greek version of the Behavioral Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS) and ‘self-reported’ questionnaires assessing child’s feeding history.
Results:
Differences in feeding behavior of preschoolers between the 2 groups were found concerning the time of introduction of complementary (pureed), lumpy, and table foods as well as finger feeding and regular cup-drinking. Age-specific milestones as proposed by guidelines were not reached. Late introduction of complementary and lumpy foods (>6 months and >9 months, respectively) as well as finger-feeding (>9 months) were predictive of more problematic feeding behaviors later on.
Conclusions:
The trajectory of feeding development, including less studied feeding milestones, both in healthy children and children with gastrointestinal diseases, indicates that there are discrepancies between current feeding practices and infant feeding guidelines, and a tendency to delay the acquisition of all assessed feeding milestones.
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