AUT-MENU: Improving Meal Experience of Subjects With Autism Spectrum Disorder

NCT06266377 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: 11122023
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 200
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 3

Brief Summary

The main goal of this multi-center interventional study is to improve the meal experience of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder trough the development of menus for collective catering targeted to their nutritional and sensory needs and the drafting of nutritional indications that can be a reference for collective catering nationwide. After an initial assessment of participants' consumption of meals in the collective service, menus adapted to their nutritional and sensory needs will be administered, and consumption between the initial and adapted menus will be compared. A population subgroup will also be selected whose caregivers will be invited to participate in a nutrition education course with the aim of providing parents of subjects with ASD, with knowledge tools to learn how to identify, manage and reduce their children's attitudes of food selectivity.

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Keywords

Food selectivity; Nutrition; Autism spectrum disorder; Collective catering; Food acceptance; mealtime; sustainability

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Food acceptance of canteen menus by individuals enrolled in the study

  Meal evaluation forms (score range for each item: 0-1; the score number is directly proportional to the amount of the dish consumed)

  8 weeks (T0); 8 weeks (T1)

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Reduction in food selectivity as a result of the targeted nutrition education course

  8 weeks

Study Arms (1)

Intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

Children afferent to the elementary school where Milano Ristorazione delivers meals and adolescents and young adults enrolled in the State Agricultural Technical Institute Giuseppe Garibaldi (Rome) and Institute I.P.S.E.O.A. "Tor Carbone - A. Narducci."

Other: Administration of menus of collective catering adapted to the sensory and nutritional needs of subjects with Autism Spectrum Disorder; Other: Nutrition education course aimed at caregivers of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Interventions

Administration of menus of collective catering adapted to the sensory and nutritional needs of subjects with Autism Spectrum Disorder OTHER

The AUT-MENU intervention study will be structured in two phases: a preliminary observation phase (T0), which will assess and describe the acceptance of standard meals in the context of collective catering in primary and high schools by the subjects enrolled in the study; and an intervention phase (T1) in which the acceptance of menus targeted to the nutritional and sensory needs of the same subjects enrolled at T0 will be assessed. The revision of the standard menus will be carried 1) balancing energy and macronutrient content, 2) promoting adequate weekly food frequencies consumption and portions, to provide an adequate and sustainable menus 3) adapting the sensory characteristics of the foods offered to the sensory needs of individuals with ASD. The acceptance of the targeted menus by the enrolled population will be evaluated through meal evaluation forms. These results will be compared with the ones collected during the first observational phase (T0).

Intervention group

Nutrition education course aimed at caregivers of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder OTHER

A population subgroup will also be selected whose caregivers will be invited to participate in a nutrition education course with the aim of providing parents of subjects with ASD, with knowledge tools to learn how to identify, manage and reduce their children's attitudes of food selectivity.

Intervention group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 5 Years - 19 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• age 5-19 years
• Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (grade 1-2 or grade 3)
• Informed consent signed by their caregivers

You may not qualify if:

• Subjects who are not autonomous in feeding themselves;
• Presence of neurodevelopmental disorders and/or pathological conditions that require the use of special diets;

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Pavia: lead
• Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria (CREA): collaborator

Study Sites (3)

Milano Ristorazione S.p.A.

Milan, 20139, Italy

Location

Istituto I.P.S.E.O.A. "Tor Carbone - A. Narducci".

Roma, 00178, Italy

Location

Istituto Tecnico Agrario Statale "Giuseppe Garibaldi"

Roma, 00178, Italy

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Conti MV, Breda C, Basilico S, Luzzi A, Voto L, Santero S, De Filippo G, Cena H. Dietary recommendations to customize canteen menus according to the nutritional and sensory needs of individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Eat Weight Disord. 2023 Aug 1;28(1):66. doi: 10.1007/s40519-023-01590-z.

  PMID: 37526770 BACKGROUND

• Conti MV, Breda C, Basilico S, Zambon I, Sofroniou A, Ruggeri S, Scalvedi ML, Cena H. Improving Meal Acceptance of Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder (AUT-MENU Project): Protocol for a Bicentric Intervention Study. JMIR Res Protoc. 2025 May 21;14:e57507. doi: 10.2196/57507.

  PMID: 40397941 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Hellas Cena, MD

  University of Pavia

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Maria Vittoria Conti, BSc

CONTACT

0382987536; mariavittoria.conti@unipv.it

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Non-randomized multi-center intervention with a single arm. Study participants will receive new adapted canteen menus according to the nutritional and sensory needs of the target population.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 9, 2024
• First Posted: February 20, 2024
• Study Start: September 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: June 1, 2025
• Study Completion: November 30, 2025
• Last Updated: February 20, 2024

Record last verified: 2023-12

Locations

IT (3)