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Food Selection and Preferences of Omani Autistic Children

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Personalized Food Intervention and Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder Management

Part of the book series: Advances in Neurobiology ((NEUROBIOL,volume 24))

Abstract

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by core deficits in social interactions, verbal/nonverbal communication, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped behaviors. Children with ASD are known to have several feeding problems that are believed to affect their nutritional and health status.

Aim: The present study was designed to assess the food preferences in Omani children diagnosed with ASD compared with controls.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted in which 375 children (males and females) aged between 4 and 13 years were recruited. The sample consisted of 163 children with ASD and a control group of 212 typically developing (TD) children. For each participant, demographic, anthropometric, and medical information and information regarding dietary intakes were gathered using the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess their food preferences.

Results: The sociodemographic characteristics of caregivers were similar in the two groups, while their perceptions based on several nutritional parameters were different. Children’s age and body mass index (BMI) were similar in both groups, while the number of male children was higher in ASD group (P < 0.001). Problematic behaviors including food refusal and selectivity were significantly higher in ASD children than in TD children. Despite that, the children with ASD were found to consume mostly traditional Omani dishes.

Conclusion: This is the first study that provides information on the eating habits and nutritional intake of Omani children diagnosed with ASD. The overall findings are promising and may contribute to further understanding of food preferences in children with ASD in Oman. Such information is highly valuable for the prevention and management of nutritional deficiencies among Omani children with autism by improving their diet quality.

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Conflict of Interest

Authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

    Najma M. Al-Kindi, Yahya M. Al-Farsi & Syed Gauhar Alam Rizvi

  2. Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

    Buthaina Al-Bulushi, Amanat Ali & Musthafa Mohamed Essa

  3. College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Ajax, ON, Canada

    Amanat Ali

  4. Ageing and Dementia Research Group, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

    Musthafa Mohamed Essa

Authors
  1. Najma M. Al-Kindi
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  2. Yahya M. Al-Farsi
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  3. Buthaina Al-Bulushi
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  4. Amanat Ali
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  5. Syed Gauhar Alam Rizvi
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  6. Musthafa Mohamed Essa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Najma M. Al-Kindi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Food Science and Nutrition, CAMS, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

    M. Mohamed Essa

  2. World Innovation Summit for Health WISH, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar

    M. Walid Qoronfleh

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Al-Kindi, N.M., Al-Farsi, Y.M., Al-Bulushi, B., Ali, A., Rizvi, S.G.A., Essa, M.M. (2020). Food Selection and Preferences of Omani Autistic Children. In: Essa, M., Qoronfleh, M. (eds) Personalized Food Intervention and Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder Management. Advances in Neurobiology, vol 24. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30402-7_16

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