Eating behaviours in care-experienced children: A mixed-methods UK comparative cohort study to examine mealtime challenges.

Insufficient food provision and malnutrition are features of neglect and are reasons children are taken into care. Subsequent eating difficulties may have long-term negative physical and mental health impact. Literature from various countries indicates patterns of over- and under-consumption, hoarding and stealing food, and consumption of contaminated or non-food (pica) sources in care-experienced children, but no studies have examined these patterns in the UK.