Children with early refusal to eat: follow-up during primary school.

Abstract

Twenty-five children, previously investigated at 3-12 months of age for refusal to eat for at least four weeks with no apparent medical cause, have been followed-up prospectively with respect to feeding characteristics, general behaviour, somatic health and growth. In the present study, 18 of these children, still resident in Uppsala, were reinvestigated during the primary school period. Comparisons were made with 240 classmates. Information was obtained from school health records and from questionnaires completed by teachers and parents concerning the children's current eating behaviour and general behaviour. Compared with the controls, the children who refused to eat at an early age presented more eating problems both at home (p < 0.01) and at school (p < 0.01), but were not different with respect to general behaviour, somatic health or growth. We conclude that children with previous periods of refusal to eat continue to show problematic eating behaviour, not only at home but also at school.