Features of eating behavior in children with different forms of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Aim – to study the features of the eating behavior (EB) in children with different forms of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) - simple steatosis (SS) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), to compare the obtained data with the eating behavior of children without liver steatosis. 120 patients aged 7 to 16 years were examined, the average age of the patients was (12.00 ± 2.56) years. The presence and degree of liver steatosis was determined by transient elastography using a FibroScan®502Touch with an assessment of CAP (controlled attenuation parameter). According to the CAP, gender-specific alanine aminotransferase levels and body mass index, patients were divided into 4 groups: 1 group consisted of 26 patients with NASH, 2 group – of 44 patients with SS, 3 group – of 35 patients with obesity without liver steatosis, 4 group (control) – of 15 patients with normal weight without metabolic disorders. The groups were homogeneous in age. Assessment of EB was carried out using the pediatric modification of the Dutch eating behavior questionnaire (DEBQ-C). It was found that most patients with SS (75,0%) and NASH (87,5%) demonstrated an emotional type of EB. The restrictive type of EB was predominant in obese children without hepatic steatosis (73,7%). The total score of the restrictive type of EB in children of the 3 group was significantly higher compared with the data of the 4 group (p