Abbot Nutrition has commenced a multi centric clinical trial across 15 hospitals in the country on paediatric patients to determine the perceived effectiveness of its Identification and Management of Feeding Difficulties (IMFeD) tool in India. The tool by Abbot is a diagnosis framework which will be available to the doctors to asses and treat their paediatric patients with feeding problems.

IMFeD includes a patient questionnaire to identify a child’s feeding patterns and is interactive as it also provides guidelines and management of the different types of feeding difficulties.

In India, the observational study which spans over four months is conducted to determine the perceived effectiveness of the IMFeD tool. The study which has been cleared by an Ethics Committee will have a total of 600 participants representing 40 children in each of the 15 hospitals across the country, informed officials from Abbot Nutrition.

Some experts attribute feeding difficulties to a wide range of causes including physiological factors such as appetite and genetics. Other factors may include psychological issues like struggle for autonomy and level of affection or adverse interaction between mother and child.

The study will help to gauge the key reasons for the prevalence of fussy eating habits among children. According to Dr Glenn Berall, chief of paediatrics and medical programme director, North York General Hospital, Toronto, Canada, poor appetite is attributed to organ disease, parental misperception, apathetic withdrawal, highly selective intake, colic interference with feeding and fear of feeding.

The global studies carried out using IMFeD in 11 countries including China, Hong King, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam have indicated a uniform poor appetite pattern, stated Dr Berall.

“We often see a communication disconnect between doctors and parents on feeding difficulties. Therefore ‘picky or fussy’ eating does not cover the range of feeding problems which can occur in young children, and the issue tends not to register with doctors as a legitimate concern. Because of miscommunication, these children are often overlooked and do not receive the proper diagnosis and treatment plan”, stated Dr Berall.

The IMFeD tool was developed based on the clinical practices of Dr Benny Kerzner, chairman, department of gastroenterology and Nutrition, Children’s National Medical Centre Washington and Professor of Paediatrics, The George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences.