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This rapid evidence assessment (REA) study aims to synthesise what is known about food refusal within male prison populations to aid a better understanding of why this occurs. By looking at the various functions of food refusal for this population, it is hoped that professionals can better support prisoners’ needs in this area.

A rapid review of available data within the published literature was completed. Searches were conducted on two databases (PsychInfo and MedLine), and a total of 328 articles were screened using a three-stage process. This resulted in 13 articles being identified for the final sample, which were reviewed and synthesised into themes by looking for commonalities.

Five themes were identified: “to protest”, “to achieve goals or demands”, “to manage interpersonal difficulties with prison/custodial staff”, “to end life” and “mental health and personality disorder”. The findings appear to suggest that food refusal in this context may be predominantly driven by a need to communicate or gain control.

To help prevent and cease food refusal, it will be beneficial for prison staff to use approaches that support prisoners feeling a sense of fairness, transparency, control and autonomy, as well as problem-solving skills and establishing a sense of purpose and motivation.

This REA confirmed there is a lack of good-quality research into the functions of food refusal among prisoners in the UK. Future research should involve contact with prisoners who have engaged in food refusal to understand motivations firsthand.

This study aims to evaluate the nutritional habits, eating behavior and nutritional status of children with autism.

This study was conducted with 60 boys and 16 girls diagnosed with autism (mean age: 8.3 ± 4.9 years). Research data were collected from parents of children with autism using a questionnaire form developed by researchers after literature searching. The height and body weight of the children were recorded, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated.

Almost half of the children except the 13–18 age group were overweight/obese according to BMI. Difficulty in giving new food was 73.1% in the 2–5 age group, 70% in the 6–12 age group and 40% in the 13–18 age group (p = 0.04). It was determined that the children refused to consume a median of 3 (1–8) types of food (p = 0.04) and were obsessed with consuming 2 (1–4) types of food and 1 (1–4) type of beverages. Additionally, milk and dairy products were refused significantly higher between 2–5 and 6–12 years than 13–18 years (p = 0.02). Also, it was found that age had an inverse effect on refusal food number (β = 0.38, 95% CI = −0.30 − −0.08, p = 0.01). In conclusion, obesity and nutritional problems such as food selectivity, food refusal and obsessive eating behavior are encountered in children with autism which affect children socially and physically and should not be ignored when planning the treatment of children with autism.

The lack of a control group to compare the results of children with autism is an important limitation of the study.

This study fulfills a defined need to examine and evaluate Turkish children’s nutritional status, nutritional habits and eating behavior with autism.

The assessment and management of prisoners on hunger strikes in a custodial setting is complex. There is limited clinical guidance available for psychiatrists to draw upon in such cases. The purpose of this paper is to develop a management algorithm through expert elicitation to inform the psychiatric care of prisoners on a hunger strike.

A Delphi method was used to elicit views from Irish forensic psychiatrists, a legal expert and an expert in ethics using a structured questionnaire. Themes were extracted from the results of the questionnaire to propose a management algorithm. A consensus was reached on management considerations.

Five consultant forensic psychiatrists, a legal expert and an expert on psychiatric ethics (n=7) consented to participation, with a subsequent response rate of 71.4 per cent. Consensus was achieved on a proposed management algorithm. Assessment for mental disorder, capacity to refuse food and motivation for food refusal are seen as key psychiatric tasks. The need to work closely with the prison general practitioner and the value of multidisciplinary working and legal advice are described. Relevant aspects of law included mental health, criminal law (insanity) and capacity legislation.

This study outlines a management algorithm for the psychiatric assessment and management of prisoners on a hunger strike, a subject about which there is limited guidance to date. Although written from an Irish perspective, this study outlines key considerations for psychiatrists in keeping with international guidance and therefore may be generalisable to other jurisdictions.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal (GI) problems and eating behaviors in children who are diagnosed with autistic disorder (AD) and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).

This study was conducted with 102 children who were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Sleeping and GI (abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, difficulty swallowing) problems in children were obtained by asking their parents using a questionnaire. The feeding assessment survey (FAS), brief autism mealtime behavior inventory (BAMBI) and food consumption frequency were used to obtain information about the children’s eating habits.

The BAMBI total score, food refusal and features of autism subscale scores of those with AD were higher than those in the PDD-NOS group (p < 0.05). Sleeping, GI and eating problems are seen in those with AD more commonly than in those diagnosed with PDD-NOS.

To the knowledge, this is the first study that compares GI, sleeping and eating problems in children with AD and PDD-NOS. Sleeping, GI and eating problems may be more frequent in children with AD than in those with PDD-NOS. The GI problem rate is higher in children with autism with sleeping problems than without sleeping problems.

Anorexia nervosa is the term used to describe a specific disorder of appetite. The name of this complaint is to some extent misleading as it implies loss of appetite of nervous origin. While this is in part true, it is inaccurate. The non‐medical reader may be left with the impression that the description includes all those rather ‘nervous’, tense or over anxious people who also have a poor appetite and occasional refusal of food or excessive faddiness about their food. This, of course, is not so.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive eating screening inventory named the Sensory Processing, Aberrant Mealtime Behaviors, Motor, Inventory for Eating (SAMIE). The SAMIE will accurately screen nutritional risk by identifying the four primary domains that affect eating in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The development of the questions was executed in three steps. First, a review of the literature was conducted. Second, expert opinion was acquired which was critical in developing the questions. Third, ten think-aloud protocols were set up to simplify the first draft. Prior to the pilot study, four participants were recruited to complete the SAMIE online.

A total of 162 participants completed the online demographic questionnaire and the SAMIE. Overall, participants did not differ between groups for demographic characteristics, BMI status and dietary intake. After conducting a series of statistical tests, results illustrated that the SAMIE is a valid measure to screen nutritional risk in children with ASD.

Due to the complexities of problematic eating behaviors in ASD, there is a need for a comprehensive screening inventory that encompasses the four domains that impact eating in an ASD. These domains have been identified as, namely, aberrant mealtime behavior, eating skills, dietary intake, and sensory processing and have yet to be utilized collectively to screen for nutritional risk in children with ASD.

The SAMIE is a novel eating screening inventory that will standardize the methodology for screening nutritional risk that can be used in clinical, community and research settings.

The aim of this paper is to share the details of a multidisciplinary approach, which includes occupational therapy, and to review the factors that should be considered in the evaluation and treatment of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who are excessively selective in their food choices. Issues in this area are complex and often related to several complementary domains (medical, nutritional, psychosocial, sensorimotor, etc.). However, feeding disorders are frequently assessed and treated from a single discipline and important issues are missed or confounded.

A team of experienced clinicians in the field of paediatric feeding disorders gathered the knowledge and experience they acquired from working with individuals with ASD as well as with individuals with other neurodevelopmental diagnosis. A review of current literature in paediatric feeding disorders was used to document and explicate the multifactorial nature of feeding disorders in children with ASD and justify the need for a multidisciplinary approach to issues in this area.

Feeding disorders in children with ASD are linked to multiple sensory, motor, behavioural, nutritional and gastrointestinal comorbidities. A multidisciplinary approach is needed and increasingly recommended. However, multidisciplinary teams, specialised in the care of children with ASD and feeding issues, continue to be difficult to locate and access for families. The authors sought to highlight the signs of feeding problems in children with ASD from different domains and share a model of a multidisciplinary approach that can lead to more successful interventions.

The detailed description of the domains linked to feeding issues and the clinical descriptions provided throughout the paper create a roadmap for other clinicians aiming to set up similar teams.

We report a case of a person with Down's syndrome presenting with symptoms of depression and symptoms of an atypical eating disorder. Significant challenges and dilemmas were encountered during his assessment and treatment. Twenty years ago he had presented in a similar way and his lengthy but successful treatment was published. We will present his case in two parts. The first will cover his clinical presentation and assessment and the second will focus solely on his treatment. During the time of his assessment and management the Mental Capacity Act 2005 had just been introduced in England and Wales and the implications of this new legislation in the management of such cases will also be discussed.

The review of food consumption elsewhere in this issue shows the broad pattern of food supplies in this country; what and how much we eat. Dietary habits are different to what they were before the last War, but there have been few real changes since the end of that War. Because of supplies and prices, shifts within commodity groups have occurred, e.g. carcase meat, bread, milk, but overall, the range of foods commonly eaten has remained stable. The rise of “convenience foods” in the twenty‐five year since the War is seen as a change in household needs and the increasing employment of women in industry and commerce, rather than a change in foods eaten or in consumer preference. Supplies available for consumption have remained fairly steady throughout the period, but if the main food sources, energy and nutrient content of the diet have not changed, changes in detail have begun to appear and the broad pattern of food is not quite so markedly stable as of yore.

Hunger strikes have a long history in efforts to achieve social change but scholars have made few comparative, empirical, or theoretical contributions to understanding their dynamics and connections in the social movement and nonviolent action literature. We examine hunger strikes from 1906 to 2004 with a comparative perspective, elaborating on its use as a tactic of nonviolent change. Using data assembled from the New York Times, Keesing's Worldwide Online, and The Economist we analyze how, when, where, and why hunger strikes occur, and by whom they have been utilized to seek change. In general, findings reveal that hunger strikes over the last century have been widespread phenomena that are typically small, brief, and relatively successful tactics against the state. Several themes emerge regarding hunger strikes including their appeal to the powerless and emergence when few political opportunities exist, their significance for third-party mobilization, and the role of emotions in the protest dynamics. Taken together, the power struggle involving the hunger strike is an important example and extension of “political jiu-jitsu” as presented by Sharp (1973).