Differences in Mealtime Behaviors, Food Security, and Weight Concerns Between Neurotypical Youth and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to examine the differences in nutrition-related factors between youth with ASD and NT youth, and to examine the association between ASD diagnosis, sociodemographic factors, and nutrition-related variables with child weight status.MethodsData was utilized from the 2019 National Survey of Children's Health which consisted of items related to children's health and well-being. Parent-reported variables on dietary behaviors, child weight concerns, mealtime behaviors, and food insecurity were compared between children with ASD and NT youth using chi-square analyses. Logistic regression examined factors related to physician-reported concerns regarding overweight status among youth.ResultsA total of 59,725 including 1,702 (weighted sample of 1,954,261) children with ASD and 58,023 (weighted sample of 70,959,327) NT children were included in the analysis. A greater percentage of parents of children with ASD reported weight-related concerns about their child (p < .001), food insecurity (p < .001), and fewer family meals together (p = .04) compared to parents of NT youth. Results from the regression analysis revealed that the odds of weight concerns for youth with ASD were 2.29 times (95%CI = 1.62-3.25) the odds of weight concerns for NT youth.ConclusionChildren with ASD experienced more nutrition-related difficulties than NT youth, and an ASD diagnosis was most strongly associated with physician-reported weight concerns compared to other sociodemographic and nutrition-related factors. Future research should further examine the role of food insecurity and family meal frequency on nutritional difficulties and weight status in families of children with ASD.