Preschoolers’ Very Picky Eating Could Be Sign Of Anxiety, Depression

No studies had looked in depth at the longer term effects of selective eating during childhood, so Zucker studied 917 children two to almost six years old who were enrolled in an anxiety study.

The study has been conducted on 3400 preschool aged children, and 20 percent of these subjects have demonstrated signs of picky eating.

Nancy Zucker, an eating disorder specialist, associate psychiatry professor and lead author of the study from Duke University, has noted that the typical pickiness may just be considered as normal dislike of the food, like not eating their vegetables. They suggest the condition might be better described as avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). The child’s health growth, social functioning, and parent-child relationships are few of the things affected.

She also said that the reason for children’s refusal to eat certain types of food is that they might have heightened senses, enabling them to be overwhelmed by the texture, taste and smell of certain foods. The, well, chicken-or-the-egg conundrum got me thinking, so I phoned up Dr. William Copeland – a co-author of the study – for his read. However, more research is needed to confirm that.

Depression and social anxiety were the problems that most afflicted the server picky eaters, whereas attention-deficit behavior and separation anxiety symptoms were observed more in the “moderate selective eating” group.

“There’s no question that not all children go on to have chronic selective eating in adulthood”, said Zucker. The persons in charge with taking care of the children were questioned regarding the eating habits of the children, home environment and possible psychiatric symptoms.

Parents who are concerned about their children’s eating can start a food diary to see if their children are picky everywhere, Shu said.

People tend to think of picky eating as a cute quirk that kids outgrow once they realize the delicious magic of stinky foods like Brie and kalamata olives and asparagus that don’t necessarily appeal to the infantile palate.

“The fact that a behavior is relatively common does not mean that it is harmless”, they wrote in an article published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. Unfortunately, this was just a matter of time when researchers at Duke University advised parents of picky eaters children to begin their intervention soonest, instead of amending to their children’s anguishes.

Picky eaters are very selective about what they eat and are often unwilling to try new food. They were followed up for more than 2 years. For parents, the results of the study raise their own anxieties.

“They have a stronger sensitivity to the world outside and to how their body feels. So save the adventures with new foods for snack time, and focus on making family meals happy”. Parents should consider seeking help from mental health professionals.