A study suggests a correlation with children who are picky eaters and psychological disorders. (Photo : Reuters)
A recent research has indicated that selective or picky eating, refusing to eat or eating only one type of food in children has strong correlations with serious psychological afflictions.
An in-depth study into the psychological effects of selective eating, spearheaded by Nancy Zucker, a Child Psychologist in Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, reveals that symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Depression and Anxiety can manifest in even modest amounts of selective eating.
In a populace model of 917 children ranging from 24 to 71 months, exhibited that those with severe afflictions of selectiveness have complications in chewing and swallowing, and identified with psychological problems.
Those with less than mild cases draw indications of ADHD but were more likely to have immediate relatives with history of drug abuse or a parent treated for mental disorders. Most selective eaters tended to demonstrate symptoms of anxiety and depression in the formative years, Forbes reported.
Readings also concluded that the higher the severity of the picky eating, the more severe the psychopathological symptoms were. Other factors such as the mother's psychological health and skirmishes in the environment nearby food showed even more severe cases of selective eating and the unhealthy involvements with certain foodstuff causes anxiety.
Results also illustrate that selectiveness has tendencies of elevated sensory reflexes to food mainly consistencies, odors, graphic cues and gesture, according to the New York Times.
In this light, Dr. Zucker and her associates suggest that selective eating be given more consideration by pediatricians, who dogmatically explain that selective eating is "just a phase", since selectiveness has been shown to lead to elevated psychological disorders and impairments.
They also propose selective eating be called and diagnosed as "avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder" and be defined as an eating disorder that summarizes "maladaptive food restriction", and will be a new addition to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.
