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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined in DSM-5-TR by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction, together with restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. Features may include insistence on sameness, highly fixated interests, and hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory input. ASD presents in the early developmental period and causes clinically significant impairment, with severity specified according to the level of support required (American Psychiatric Association, 2022).
In nutritional psychology, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a central construct because food selectivity is among its most common associated features. Prevalence estimates of food selectivity range from approximately 21% to 76% among autistic children and adolescents with average intellectual ability, with sensory sensitivities to food texture and taste occurring roughly two to ten times more frequently than in non-autistic peers (Mørdre et al., 2024). These patterns overlap substantially with ARFID, with meta-analytic estimates placing ARFID prevalence at 11.41% in autistic groups and autism prevalence at 16.27% in ARFID groups (Sader et al., 2025).
Author and reviewer
Editorial responsibilityReferences and further reading
- American Psychiatric Association. (2022). What Is Autism Spectrum Disorder? View source
- Mørdre, M., et al. (2024). Food selectivity in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: A systematic literature review. View source
- Sader, M., et al. (2025). Meta-analytic estimates of the prevalence of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder in autistic groups and autism in ARFID groups. View source
How to cite this entry
CNP (2026). Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In CNP Encyclopedia Editorial Board (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Nutritional Psychology. The Center for Nutritional Psychology.
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