Visakhapatnam: Many children have an appetite for specific foods with their interest generally limited to carbohydrate-rich foods that result in a majority of them being deprived of a balanced diet. Sensory issues with autism are manifested in many ways including aver-sions to certain food items.
A study by researchers from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam and the Siddhartha Medical College, Vijayawada, has established a sensitivity to certain food textures, food neophobia and rigid sche-dules for meals in these children. The researchers monitored eating habits of about 100 children with autism in Vijayawada city.
With a majority of them not getting a balanced diet and the right kind of nutrition they need, their growth, cognitive processes and immune system get badly affected. Nearly half of the children only eat well when they were immersed in watching TV.
Explaining the research study, Rokalla Rekha, a nutritionist and faculty of Andhra University, said the age of the children who participated in the study ranged from 6 to 12 years. “The children were diagnosed with autism based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The severity of autism symptoms varied between moderate to severe.”
The other researchers were Dr. T.S. Prabhakar and Dr. N.S. Vital Rao from the Department of Paedia-trics, Siddhartha Medical College, Vijayawada.
The study also highlighted how children living in urban areas can be more prone to the autism spectrum disorder. “The study findings may suggest a po-tentially increased autism risk as a result of urban living, which is not ethnically specific but may be more directly related to their urban setting,” said Ms Rekha.
Children with autism ex-hibit feeding behaviours and emotional responses as a result of their under-developed gastrointestinal tract and difficulties with digestion. The study reve-aled that a majority of them had a good appetite for specific foods, because children with autism usually show an inclination towards a set of foods according to their colour, smell and taste preferences.
“The hypothalamus may not function properly in children with autism and they are unable to know when they are full, leading to overeating. In the present study, all children eat a lot of carbohydrates and carbonated soft drinks, which could prove as a double whammy in the future,”said Ms Rekha.
