Associations Between Screen Time, Sleep Quality, Diet Quality and Food Selectivity Among School-Aged Autistic Children.
More screen time and worse sleep predict pickier eating in autistic children.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked 112 autistic kids and their parents to fill out four short checklists. They tracked weekday screen hours, sleep quality, diet variety, and food refusal.
What they found
Kids who clocked more than three hours of screens a day ate fewer fruits and vegetables. Poor sleepers were pickier eaters. The links were small but held across boys and girls.
How this fits with other research
Khoo et al. (2022) already showed that one parent workshop can cut screen time by 51 minutes. Wendy adds the next piece: less screen time may also mean better diet.
Bicer et al. (2013) found over half of Turkish autistic kids were overweight and low on calcium and zinc. Wendy agrees food selectivity is common and adds late evening screens as a new clue.
Amore et al. (2011) proved that ABA feeding plans boost acceptance and cut mealtime meltdowns. Wendy’s survey shows why those plans are still needed: screens and bad sleep keep selectivity high.
Why it matters
You can’t fix picky eating with rewards alone. Ask families about the bedtime routine and the tablet. A simple screen curfew plus sleep-hygiene checklist may soften food refusal before you place the first bite.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
PURPOSE: Autistic children are more likely to experience challenges with poor diet quality or selective eating behaviours in comparison to neurotypical peers, which may predispose them to nutrient deficiencies and suboptimal weight status. Thus, it is crucial to identify factors associated with these two unfavourable dietary behaviours in autistic children. This cross-sectional study examined the associations between screen time and sleep quality with diet quality and food selectivity among autistic children, and the extent to which screen time was indirectly associated with diet quality and food selectivity through sleep quality. METHOD: The parents of 628 autistic children aged 7-12 years in Australia reported on their child's screen time, sleep quality, diet quality and food selectivity via an online questionnaire. RESULTS: Structural equation modelling of the hypothesised mediation model revealed significant associations between screen time and sleep disturbances (β = 0.118, 95%CI = 0.032, 0.204, p = .007), and between sleep disturbances with lower diet quality (β = -0.077, 95%CI = -0.153, -0.001, p = .047) and higher food selectivity (β = 0.198, 95%CI = 0.119, p < .001). Sleep disturbances only weakly explained the indirect association between screen time and food selectivity (β = 0.023, 95%CI = 0.004, 0.043, p = .018), whereas the indirect association between screen time and diet quality through sleep disturbances was non-significant (β = -0.009, 95%CI = -0.020, 0.002, p = .110). CONCLUSION: Higher screen time and poor sleep quality emerged as significant factors associated with unfavourable dietary behaviours among autistic children.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2025 · doi:10.1146/annurev-nutr-120420-021719