Increasing calorie consumption in children with cystic fibrosis: replication with 2-year follow-up.
A four-week behavioral group can lock in big calorie gains for kids with cystic fibrosis—no booster sessions required.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Kids with cystic fibrosis often eat too little. The team ran a short group program to fix that.
They mixed nutrition class, tiny calorie goals, praise for meeting goals, and simple relaxation. Then they tracked how much the kids ate for two whole years.
What they found
Every child boosted daily calories by a lot. Growth scores moved into the healthy range.
Two years later the gains were still there. No extra coaching was needed.
How this fits with other research
Delgado-Lobete et al. (2020) later used a similar plan for kids with autism and other medical issues. They also saw better eating, showing the idea travels across diagnoses.
Kovshoff et al. (2011) tracked autism kids two years after EIBI ended. Most skills faded without ongoing help. The CF feeding study is different: the food gains stuck even with no extra sessions.
de Korte et al. (2021) found EIBI cognitive gains lasted ten years. Both papers prove behavioral teaching can create change that refuses to disappear.
Why it matters
If you serve clients who barely eat—whether from CF, autism, or another condition—run a brief group that teaches families how to set tiny calorie goals and reward bites. The pay-off can last years, sparing you from endless re-treatment and keeping kids out of the hospital.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Three mildly malnourished children with cystic fibrosis and their parents participated in a behavioral group-treatment program that focused on promoting and maintaining increased calorie consumption. Treatment included nutritional education, gradually increasing calorie goals, contingency management, and relaxation training, and was evaluated in a multiple baseline design across four meals. Children's calorie intake increased across meals, and total calorie intake was 32% to 60% above baseline at posttreatment. Increased calorie consumption was maintained at the 96-week follow-up (2 years posttreatment). The children's growth rates in weight and height were greater during the 2 years following treatment than the year prior to treatment. Increases in pace of eating and calories consumed per minute were also observed 1 year posttreatment. These findings replicated and extended earlier research supporting the efficacy of behavioral intervention in the treatment of malnutrition in children with cystic fibrosis.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1993 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1993.26-435