Your child’s desire to stay faithful to one food group (or color group, or chicken nugget group) may mean more than you think. A new study found that picky eating is associated with symptoms of anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) disorder and other psychological disorders, according to the journal Pediatrics.
The study, which looked at 917 children ages 2 to 6, found that the risk of being diagnosed with social anxiety was seven times higher in children with severe selective eating, and the likelihood of being diagnosed with depression was twice as high. Severe selective eating is more than just an aversion to certain foods; often, children will avoid entire food groups, certain textures and/or eating outside of the home.
Picky eating affects nearly 20 percent of children, and while many parents (rightly) view the crutch as something their children will outgrow the study, based on a three-year-long interview process with parents, found that picking eating may be worth a second look.
Although Nancy Zucker, the lead author of the study and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Duke University School of Medicine, advised caution in interpreting the results, noting in an interview with the New York Times that the study didn’t find that picky eating caused the psychological issues but rather that there is a correlation between the two.
“It is a reminder that food is not a stand-alone issue and that it plays a role in the big picture of development,” said Dr. Laura Jana pediatrician at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and co-author of “Food Fights: Winning the nutritional challenges of parenthood armed with insight, humor, and a bottle of ketchup” in the New York Times. “How kids behave around food relates to how they interact with the world in general. It doesn’t surprise me that some kids who are really tentative around food might be really tentative in life.”
If your child is a picky eater, take it as a warning sign. There’s a chance they will outgrow the habit, but there’s also a chance they could be at a higher risk of developing a psychological disorder, so use it as a reminder to keep alert and potentially get your child help earlier. Additionally, emphasize the positive things about food. Make mealtime a safe space that your child can associate with peace and happiness.
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