Young Adults with High Autistic-Like Traits Displayed Lower Food Variety and Diet Quality in Childhood

Catherine Panossian, Philippa Lyons-Wall, Andrew Whitehouse, Wendy H. Oddy, Johnny Lo, Jane Scott, Therese A. O'Sullivan
2020 Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders  
This study explored the association between autistic-like traits in young adults and dietary intake in early childhood in the Gen2 Raine Study cohort. Data were available from 811 participants at years 1, 2 and 3 for the assessment of dietary intake, and at year 20 for measurement of autistic-like traits. Results showed as autistic-like traits increased, total food variety, core food variety and dairy variety decreased (p < 0.05), with a lower consumption of citrus fruits and yoghurt (both p =
more » ... .04). As autistic-like traits increased, diet quality decreased, this trend was significant at 2 years (p = 0.024). Our results suggest that young adults with higher autistic-like traits were more likely to have had lower food variety and diet quality in early childhood.
doi:10.1007/s10803-020-04567-4 pmid:32617793 pmcid:PMC7835288 fatcat:l4y2n7pnsjag5puutdcpz6x5za