Effects of a mobile health nutrition intervention on dietary intake in children who have autism spectrum disorder.
An app that trains parents can raise fruit and veggie intake only for autistic children who start with almost none and stay highly engaged.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers built a phone app that teaches parents how to offer fruits and veggies to their autistic children.
Parents watched short videos, got reminders, and earned points for trying the tips.
The team randomly split families into two groups: app now or app later.
What they found
Most kids ate the same amount of healthy food no matter which group they were in.
Only the children who started with almost zero fruits and veggies and used the app every day showed a bump in produce intake.
The app did not cut chips, candy, or soda for anyone.
How this fits with other research
Patel et al. (2023) got big, lasting gains with live Zoom coaching plus daily parent practice. TVE et al. used lighter app nudges and saw tiny change, showing dose and contact matter.
Schaaf et al. (2015) already proved parents can run feeding plans at home and feel less stress. The new study swaps paper handouts for a phone, but the mixed results say tech alone is not better.
Perry et al. (2024) moved the same app idea to adults with ID and saw positive gains. The jump from kids to adults hints the tool may work when users can manage their own phone.
Why it matters
If you have a picky autistic client who rarely touches produce and the parent loves apps, this program is worth a try. Set a daily reminder and track bites taken. For all other families, invest in live BST sessions first; the evidence for real-time coaching is stronger. Use the app as a bonus, not the main course.
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Join Free →Check baseline produce intake; if it is near zero and parents are tech-savvy, add the app and require daily photo uploads of offered bites.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
<h4>Background</h4>Children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show preferences for processed foods, such as salty and sugary snacks (SSS) and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), while healthier foods, such as fruits and vegetables (FV), are consumed less. Innovative tools are needed that can efficiently disseminate evidence-based interventions and engage autistic children to improve their diet.<h4>Aim</h4>The aim of this 3-month randomized trial was to test the initial efficacy of a mobile health (mHealth) nutrition intervention on changing consumption of targeted healthy (FV) and less healthy foods/beverages (SSS, SSB) in children who have ASD, ages 6-10, who were picky eaters.<h4>Methods</h4>Thirty-eight parent-child dyads were randomly assigned to either an intervention (technology) group or a wait list control (education) group. The intervention included behavioral skills training, a high level of personalization for dietary goals, and involved parents as "agents of change." Parents in the education group received general nutrition education and the dietary goals but did not receive skills training. Children's intake was assessed at baseline and at 3 months using 24-hour dietary recalls.<h4>Results</h4>While there were no significant group-by-time interactions (<i>P </i>> 0.25) for any of the primary outcomes, we found a significant main effect of time for FV intake (<i>P </i>= 0.04) indicating that both groups consumed more FV at 3 months (2.58 <i>± </i>0.30 servings/day) than at baseline (2.17 <i>± </i>0.28 servings/day; <i>P </i>= 0.03). Children in the intervention group who consumed few FV at baseline and showed high engagement with the technology increased their FV intake by 1.5 servings/day (<i>P </i>< 0.01). Children's taste/smell sensitivity significantly predicted their FV intake (<i>P </i>= 0.0446); for each unit of <i>lower</i> taste/smell sensitivity (indicating greater sensory processing abnormalities), FV intake increased by 0.13 <i>±</i> 0.1 servings/day.<h4>Discussion</h4>This mHealth intervention did not yield significant between-group differences for changing consumption of targeted foods/beverages. Only children who consumed few FV at baseline and highly engaged with the technology increased their FV intake at 3 months. Future research should test additional strategies to expand the intervention's impact on a wider range of foods while also reaching a broader group of children who have ASD. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03424811.<b>Clinical Trial Registration:</b> This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03424811.
, 2023 · doi:10.3389/fped.2023.1100436