Eating habits and behaviors of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An integrative review

• Autor(a) principal: Carneiro, Ana Clara da Silva
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Moreira, Evellyn Silva, Lisboa, Cinthia Soares
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Research, Society and Development
• Texto Completo: https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/30976
• topic: Feeding behavior; Child; Autism Spectrum Disorder.; Conducta Alimentaria; Niño; Trastorno del Espectro Autista.; Comportamento alimentar; Criança; Transtorno do Espectro Autista.

Objective: To identify the eating patterns and behaviors of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Methodology: Integrative review carried out from the electronic search of full-text articles, published between 2012 and 2022, in the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS) and Google Scholar databases, in English and Portuguese. Results: It was observed that there was a predominance of food selectivity behaviors and low variety in the food choices of children with ASD. In addition, there was a low intake of healthy foods (fruits, vegetables and legumes) and inadequacy of vitamins, especially those of the B complex. Conclusion: It was possible to perceive that children with ASD present challenging behaviors at mealtimes and food selectivity. This scenario favors the consumption of unheathy foods, which include sweets; goodies; snacks and low fruit intake; vegetables and legumes, generating a problem related to excess weight and nutritional deficiencies.