A new study suggests that parents with children who are picky eaters should not only worry about their children's nutrition but also on their emotional health. Picky eating could lead to more serious childhood problems such as depression and anxiety.
Most people think that picky eating, or selective eating disorder, is just a normal childhood phase and kids will outgrow the habit in time. However, researchers at Duke University warned that parents should begin their intervention as soon as possible, instead of adjusting to their children's woes, as these picky eaters might be suffering from depression and anxiety.
"The question for many parents and physicians is: when is picky eating truly a problem?" Nancy Zucker, study lead author and director of the Duke Center for Eating Disorders, said in a press release. "The children we're talking about are not just misbehaving kids who refuse to eat their broccoli."
The researchers looked at the data of 3,433 children with ages 2 to 6 for the study. They found that 20 percent of children are picky eaters; two percent of them are severely selective that they are terrified in trying new food.
Children with moderate and severe selective eating disorder also showed symptoms of anxiety and depression that they are having problems socializing with others as well.
"These are children whose eating has become so limited or selective that it's starting to cause problems," Zucker said. "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."
The researchers recommend to parents to bring their children to doctors to address the problem. Picky eaters can undergo therapy and other interventions that would remove their fear of food and bad memories associated to it.
"It is the parent's job to put healthy food in front of their children and it's the children's job to choose whether to eat it or not. Positive experiences around family meals have at least as much impact on healthy outcomes as the actual foods you serve," Dr. Laura Jana, a pediatrician at the University of Nebraska Medical Center who is not part of this study, told the New York Times.
The study was published in the August 3 issue of Pediatrics.
