<p>Eating and Mealtime Behaviors in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Current Perspectives</p>

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social and communication skills and repetitive and restrictive behaviors. Children and adolescents with ASD are more likely to present feeding problems than their typically developing peers are. The present narrative review of literature aims to highlight the most recent evidence about epidemiology and presentations of eating and mealtime behavioral abnormalities in ASD from infancy to adolescence. Abnormalities in breastfeeding and acceptance of complementary foods have been described by most of the studies evaluating ASD early feeding history. Among the various eating and mealtime behaviors identified in ASD children and adolescents, the most common was food selectivity. The present review also provides brief overviews of the various aspects of food that may influence food acceptance by ASD patients and of the correlation between eating problems and ASD core symptoms, as well as with cognitive level, language skills, and family environment. However, studies evaluating eating problems in ASD children and adolescents are very heterogeneous and they show methodological differences. Moreover, the absence of unique definitions of eating and mealtime behaviors in ASD further limits the comparability of studies.

Autism symptoms in anorexia nervosa: a comparative study with females with autism spectrum disorder

“…Similarly, those with ASD show significantly more eating disorder symptoms than non-autistic people, with around 27% of women with ASD reporting clinically significant levels of eating disorder symptoms [ 30 – 32 ]. Eating difficulties are also very common in children with ASD, particularly food selectivity and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder [ 33 ]. Consistent with the hypothesis that ASD may be a risk factor for AN, evidence suggests that higher autistic symptoms in childhood predict increased disordered eating in adolescence [ 34 ].…”

Padrões e comportamentos alimentares em crianças portadoras do Transtorno do Espectro Autista

“…Christensen et al, (2019) constataram que vários comportamentos autistas estão relacionados a problemas de comportamento alimentar, e o quociente do espectro do autismo, no qual se refere a extensão de traços autistas, sendo o conjunto de alterações do transtorno e a teoria da mente, mostram as associações mais fortes., nesse sentido mais estudos são necessários para compreender a ordem temporal dessas associações. Margari et al, (2020) evidenciaram que o conhecimento atual não permite que sejam tiradas conclusões sobre o poder preditivo dos distúrbios alimentares quando reconhecidos na primeira infância. Consequentemente, estabelecendo o papel de comer e anormalidades de comportamento na hora das refeições como um marcador precoce de TEA.…”

The Gut-Brain-Microbiome Axis and Its Link to Autism: Emerging Insights and the Potential of Zebrafish Models

“…Due to the prevalence of eating disorders and sensory symptoms in ASD, an imbalance in sympathetic/parasympathetic tone is one of the hypotheses put forward to potentially explain these symptoms (Fenning et al, 2019). Currently, the physiological basis/es for eating difficulties in individuals with ASD is not well understood and is plagued by heterogeneity both in study design and how symptoms manifest across the spectrum (Margari et al, 2020). Recent studies show that while children with ASD are generally pickier about their food than neurotypical children (Babinska et al, 2020;Li C. et al, 2020), other symptoms may be unique to specific genetic forms of ASD.…”