ORIGINAL PAPER Nutritional Status of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs): A Case–Control Study Salvador Marı ´-Bauset • Agustı ´n Llopis-Gonza ´lez • Itziar Zazpe-Garcı ´a • Amelia Marı ´-Sanchis • Marı ´a Morales-Sua ´rez-Varela Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014 Abstract Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have problems of food selectivity, implying risks of nutri- tional deficiencies. The aim was to compare intakes of macro and micronutrients and body mass index in ASD and typically developing (TD) children. In a case–control study, 3-day food diaries and anthropometric measurements were completed for ASD (n = 40) and TD (n = 113) children (aged 6–10 years) living in the same area. Body mass indices were below the 5th percentile in 20 % of ASD versus 8.85 % of TD children. We found intakes were lower for fluoride (p = 0.017) and higher for vitamin E (p = 0.001). There was limited food variety and inadequacy of some intakes suggests that routine monitoring of ASD children should include assessment of their dietary habits, as well as anthropometric measurements. Keywords Feeding assessment Á Selective eating Á Autism Á ASD (autism spectrum disorder) Á Feeding disorders Á Mealtime problems Introduction Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopment disability characterized by lack of social and emotional reciprocity, limited verbal and non-verbal language skills and the presence of stereotyped and repetitive behaviors. The prevalence of autism has been increasing in recent decades and is now regarded as a relatively common neurodevelopmental disorder. Estimates based on data for 2008 suggest that the rate has increased to 11.3 per 1,000 people (CDC 2012) (1 in 88), with a male to female ratio of 4:1. On the other hand, no differences have been detected as a function of socioeconomic or cultural background (Baghdadli 2005). Parents of children with ASD commonly report feeding problems including food refusal, limited dietary intake, and behavior problems at mealtimes, with many studies over the years backing these parental concerns (Raiten and Massaro 1986; Clark et al. 1993; Cornish 1998; Klein and Nowak 1999; Whiteley et al. 2000; Ahearn et al. 2001; Ahearn 2003; Najdowsky et al. 2003; Buckley et al. 2005; Luiselli et al. 2005; Martins et al. 2008; Johnson et al. 2008; Cermak et al. 2010; Emond et al. 2010; Bandini et al. 2010; Evans et al. 2012; Maskey et al. 2012; Zimmer et al. 2012). While in some cases there is an identifiable organic etiol- ogy such as abnormal sensory processing (Twachman-Reilly S. Marı ´-Bauset Á A. Llopis-Gonza ´lez Á M. Morales-Sua ´rez-Varela (&) Unit of Public Health and Environmental Care, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Valencia, Avd. Vicente Andres Estelle ´s S/N, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain e-mail: maria.m.morales@uv.es A. Llopis-Gonza ´lez Á M. Morales-Sua ´rez-Varela CIBER - Epidemiology and Public Health (CB06/02/0045), Valencia, Spain A. Llopis-Gonza ´lez Á M. Morales-Sua ´rez-Varela Center for Public Health Research (CSISP-FISABIO), Valencia, Spain I. Zazpe-Garcı ´a Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain A. Marı ´-Sanchis Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics Unit, Navarra Hospital Complex, Navarra, Spain 123 J Autism Dev Disord DOI 10.1007/s10803-014-2205-8