Dietary restriction as treatment for food allergy may place food-allergic children at risk for impaired growth compared to their peers.
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SAN ANTONIO — MONDAY, Feb. 25, 2013 (MedPage Today) — Diets that are restricted because of food allergies may impair growth in affected children, and the more allergies, the greater the affect, researchers reported here.
In a retrospective chart review, food-allergic children older than 2 were in significantly lower weight and body mass index (BMI) percentiles after a 5-year period than healthy controls, according to Caroline Hobbs, MD, of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and colleagues.
In addition, children who had greater numbers of food allergies had significantly lower weight and height than those with only one or two allergies, and those with milk allergies had lower BMI and weight than those with other food allergies, they reported at a poster session at the meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.