De Almeida Priscila Claudino, Freire Nathália França, Oliveira Letícia Leal de, Nakano Eduardo Yoshio, Vasconcelos Ivana Aragão Lira, Zandonadi Renata Puppin, Botelho Raquel Braz Assunção
Postgraduate Program in Human Nutrition, University of Brasília, Brasília 70910-900, Brazil.
University of Brasília, Brasília 70910-900, Brazil.
Nutrients. 2025 Apr 11;17(8):1327. doi: 10.3390/nu17081327.
This study aims to compare food neophobia (FN) in groups of neurodivergent and neurotypical children with and without food restrictions. This cross-sectional study used a convenience sample of participants from all Brazilian Federative Units through the snowball method. Participants were separated into four groups for comparison: neurodivergent children without dietary restrictions; neurodivergent children with dietary restrictions; neurotypical children with dietary restrictions; and neurotypical children without dietary restrictions. The Brazilian Children's Food Neophobia Questionnaire (BCFNeo) was selected and administered to caregivers of Brazilian children between four and eleven years old. The categorization of FN scores followed a previously validated protocol. The sample was composed of the caregivers of 2387 children. Considering the sample as a whole (neurodiversity), the prevalence of high FN was 44.2%. Boys are significantly more neophobic ( < 0.001) than girls. FN does not decrease with age. Older children (eight to eleven years) are equally neophobic as younger children (four to seven years). The prevalence of high FN was greater in neurodivergent children (without dietary restrictions-62.8% and with dietary restrictions-62.4%) than in neurotypical children (with dietary restrictions-29.4% and without dietary restrictions-33.4%). FN is more prevalent in boys and neurodivergent children, regardless of food restrictions and age. More longitudinal and experimental studies are necessary to evaluate the factors influencing FN in these groups and to develop intervention strategies.
本研究旨在比较有和没有食物限制的神经发育障碍儿童与神经典型儿童群体中的食物恐新症（FN）情况。这项横断面研究通过雪球抽样法，使用了来自巴西所有联邦单位的便利样本参与者。参与者被分为四组进行比较：无饮食限制的神经发育障碍儿童；有饮食限制的神经发育障碍儿童；有饮食限制的神经典型儿童；以及无饮食限制的神经典型儿童。选取巴西儿童食物恐新症问卷（BCFNeo）并对4至11岁巴西儿童的照料者进行施测。FN分数的分类遵循先前验证的方案。样本由2387名儿童的照料者组成。将样本作为一个整体（神经多样性）来看，高FN的患病率为44.2%。男孩比女孩的恐新症显著更严重（<0.001）。FN不会随着年龄增长而降低。年龄较大的儿童（8至11岁）与年龄较小的儿童（4至7岁）的恐新症程度相当。神经发育障碍儿童（无饮食限制的患病率为62.8%，有饮食限制的患病率为62.4%）中高FN的患病率高于神经典型儿童（有饮食限制的患病率为29.4%，无饮食限制的患病率为33.4%）。无论有无食物限制和年龄如何，FN在男孩和神经发育障碍儿童中更为普遍。需要更多的纵向和实验研究来评估影响这些群体中FN的因素，并制定干预策略。
