Anthropometric measurements and nutritional assessment in autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review

Adequate nutrient intake is essential for health. Due to food selectivity and restrictive diets, people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have impaired nutritional status, which could affect their growth. We present a systematic review of publications (1970-2013) on anthropometric measurements and nutritional assessment in this population. The limited research published on growth and nutritional status has found contradictory results. Nutritional assessment has indicated limited food variety in the ASD population but has not confirmed significant differences with respect to recommended intakes or controls. In addition to the lack of control groups, studies in this area have suffered from methodological weaknesses, including unclear selection criteria, analysis of single individuals or small or age-heterogeneous samples, and failure to consider phenotypic variability between individuals or alternative explanations. Therefore, further research is warranted, particularly randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.