Welcome to the Feeding and Eating Difficulties research theme, headed by Dr Pamela Dodrill. Studies under this theme investigate the relationship between feeding/ eating skills, mealtime behaviour, and nutrition.  Specific focus areas include nutritional management for the young child, behavioural feeding interventions, treatment of oral sensory-motor feeding dysfunction, and tube weaning.

Feeding/ eating difficulties are different to ‘eating disorders’, such as anorexia, which are more common in adolescence and adulthood.  Feeding difficulties occur when an infant or child is unable or unwilling to eat a range of age-appropriate food (and sometimes any food), as a result of poorly developed feeding skills (e.g. delayed oral motor skills impacting on their ability to chew and bite) and/or a fear of trying new foods (often as a result of hypersensitivity to smell, taste, or texture of foods). 

It is universally accepted that a wide range of dietary intake is essential for optimal growth and development, yet it is widely reported that many children aren’t meeting their nutritional requirements.  Feeding/ eating difficulties can adversely impact on a child’s quality of life and place extreme pressures on parents and carers, who struggle to maintain a child’s dietary intake.  Parents report feeding difficulties as one of their biggest concerns, however, there is currently wide variation in practice related to managing children with feeding difficulties, and very little research to guide clinical practice.

Most children go through a period of ‘fussy’ or ‘picky’ eating at around 2 years of age.  Children with feeding/ eating difficulties display ongoing eating problems, which result in very restrictive eating patterns, a restricted range of dietary intake, prolonged mealtimes, mealtime battles and/or considerable parent stress.

Healthy Eating Learning Program (HELP) study
The HELP study is a large, randomised controlled trial which will identify which feeding intervention program/s result in the best clinical outcomes for young children with feeding/ eating difficulties and a restricted range of dietary intake. The HELP study will also compare the cost-effectiveness of different feeding intervention programs.

The HELP study is being run by a specialist, multi-disciplinary team of clinical researchers, including dietitians and nutritionists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, and psychologists.  The overall nutrition of children participating in the study will be measured using the facilities in the Children’s Nutrition Research Centre’s paediatric body composition laboratory – the only facility of its kind in Australia. Detailed body composition measurements will monitor children’s overall nutritional status (e.g. whether their lean body mass is improving – not just their total weight or body fat). 

Research Team
Dr Pamela Dodrill – Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, The University of Queensland
Meghann O’Connor – Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, The University of Queensland
Emma Blank – Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, The University of Queensland
Jeanne Finnie – Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, The University of Queensland
Jane Morgan – Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, The University of Queensland
Peter Frederiksen – Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, The University of Queensland
Nadine Frederiksen – Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, The University of Queensland
Dr Rebecca Hill – Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, The University of Queensland
Dr Alexia Murphy – Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, The University of Queensland
Prof Peter SW Davies - Children’s Nutrition Research Centre, The University of Queensland