Evaluation of the relationship between nutritional problems in early childhood and the behavioral, emotional problems of school-age children

Nutrition problems are quite prevalent in children, and parents often consult doctors about their children's feding problems. The majority of early feeding problems have behavioral causes. A small portion of children continue to experience feeding problems in older ages as well. This study aimed to determine the risks of future nutrition, emotional, and behavioral problems in children with early feeding problems and to elucidate the relationship between them. The study included 27 children aged 6-9 years who were referred to the Developmental Pediatrics Outpatient Clinic of Hacettepe University İhsan Doğramacı Children's Hospital between 2014 and 2021, with feeding problems reported by their parents, evaluated at least once in the Developmental Pediatrics department, and provided with nutritional recommendations. Feeding problems in children were defined as parents' perception of the child's eating problem. Through a questionnaire, the children's eating habits, emotional, and behavioral problems at the time of initial referral and during the study were assessed. The findings of the study revealed no significant differences in weight, height percentile, and body mass index between the initial and current referrals. However, it was observed that children scored lower on subscales that attract them to food and higher on subscales that repel them from food in the Child Feeding Behavior Questionnaire. Relationships were found between attention deficit and social problems with emotional undereating and satiety responsiveness, as well as between internalizing behaviors and emotional undereating in the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) scale assessing behavioral problems in children. The study demonstrated that children who experience feeding problems in early childhood continue to have eating problems during the school years and often exhibit accompanying behavioral issues associated with feeding problems. Following the emotional and behavioral problems accompanying children with ongoing nutrition problems will provide early diagnosis and treatment opportunities. Key Words: Early childhood, feeding problems, behavior and emational problem