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Eating Behavior, Nutritional Status, and Taste Perception Alteration in Children with Cancer

Yasemin Fistikçi1, Elif Bilsin Kocamaz2

  • 1Blood Collection Department, Nizip Public Hospital, Gaziantep, Turkey.

Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
|January 18, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Children with cancer experience taste alterations impacting eating behaviors like food craving and enjoyment. Increased taste alteration correlated with decreased food enjoyment and increased slow eating during chemotherapy.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Oncology
  • Clinical Nutrition
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Chemotherapy can significantly affect a child's eating behavior and nutritional status.
  • Taste alterations are a common side effect of cancer treatment, influencing food intake.
  • Understanding these changes is crucial for supportive care in pediatric cancer patients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate eating behavior, nutritional status, and taste alterations in children undergoing chemotherapy.
  • To explore the relationship between taste changes and specific eating behaviors.
  • To assess the nutritional status of pediatric cancer patients.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized validated questionnaires: Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ), Taste Alteration Scale for Children Receiving Chemotherapy (TAC-TAS), and Subjective Total Taste Acuity Scale (STTA).
  • Assessed nutritional status via Body Mass Index (BMI) Z scores.
  • Analyzed data to determine correlations between eating behaviors, taste alterations, and nutritional status.

Main Results:

  • 92.5% of children had normal BMI Z scores; 7.5% were malnourished.
  • Significant correlations found: negative between food craving/enjoyment and taste alteration; positive between slow eating and taste alteration.
  • Taste alterations were associated with decreased food craving and enjoyment, and increased slow eating.

Conclusions:

  • Taste alterations during chemotherapy negatively impact children's eating behaviors, reducing food enjoyment and increasing eating time.
  • Nutritional status appears generally maintained, but behavioral changes warrant attention.
  • Interventions addressing taste alterations may improve eating behaviors and nutritional support for pediatric cancer patients.

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