London - Small children can be notoriously fussy eaters – but it may be a mistake to dismiss this as no more than a passing phase, parents have been warned.
In some cases picky eating could be a sign of serious mental problems, according to a study.
Even moderate levels of pickiness in eating were associated with greater levels of depression and anxiety, researchers found.
They studied more than 3 000 children aged two to six to find how closely depression was linked to fussy eating. Those who ate the most selectively were more than twice as likely as normal eaters to have a diagnosis of depression.
Lead researcher Dr Nancy Zucker said: “The question for many parents and physicians is: when is picky eating truly a problem? The children we’re talking about are not just misbehaving kids who refuse to eat their broccoli.”
The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, found that between 14 and 20 percent of parents said their children were often or always selective eaters.
Of these, nearly 18 percent were classified as moderately picky. About three percent were classed as severely selective – with a diet that “limited their ability to eat with others”.
Children with both moderate and severely selective eating habits displayed symptoms of anxiety and other mental problems. Dr Zucker, director of the Duke Centre for Eating Disorders in the US, added: “These are children whose eating has become so limited or selective that it’s starting to cause problems. Impairment can take many different forms. It can affect the child’s health, growth, social functioning, and the parent-child relationship. The child can feel like no one believes them, and parents can feel blamed for the problem.
“There’s no question that not all children go on to have chronic selective eating in adulthood. But because these children are seeing impairment in their health and well-being now, we need to start developing ways to help these parents and doctors know when and how to intervene.”
Some children who refuse to eat might have heightened senses, causing them to be overwhelmed by the smell, texture and taste of certain foods, she pointed out.
Other problems leading to selective eating were “mothers with elevated anxiety” and “family conflcts around food”.
Selective eaters were also more likely to have a mother who was a substance abuser or who has sought mental health treatment.
A bad experience with a certain food could lead to anxiety when a child is given something else that is new and untrustworthy.
The study’s authors say the term “picky eating” is now obsolete and suggest it is reclassified as “avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder”.
Daily Mail