Feeding disorders related to nutrition

To study the relationship between early feeding disorders and nutritional intake during the second and third year of life.

15 children, nine girls and six boys, with a feeding problem identified at the Specialist Child Health Care Unit at a mean age of 14.5 mo were matched with respect to age and sex with healthy control children. Four-day dietary records were collected at inclusion (time 1) and follow-up of the study (time 2). Measures of growth at birth, at times 1 and 2 of the study, and at 3 y of age were obtained from Child Health Centre records.

A lower intake of energy, carbohydrate and protein was evident at times 1 and 2 for the group of children with feeding disorders compared to the controls. Zinc and vitamin B6 were the only micronutrients that differed for the feeding disorder group compared to the control group at times 1 and 2. Children with feeding disorders decelerated in weight during the second year of life and in height during the third year of life as compared to controls.

The criterion of a persistent failure to eat adequately with a subsequent failure to gain weight, required for the diagnosis of feeding disorders in DSM-IV, was supported by the findings in this study. The relation between nutrition and growth in feeding disorders has not, to our knowledge, been reported in previous research.