Researchers have recently established that there exists a link between levels of pickiness and significant mental heath issues, with findings indicating that children who were classified as 'moderately' and 'severely' selective displayed symptoms of anxiety and other mental problems.
According to lead researcher, Dr. Nancy Zucker, there comes a time when a child's issue with food may need to be given further analysis, saying: "The question for many parents and physicians is, when is picky eating truly a problem."
Statisical findings indicate that “moderate” pickiness was associated with significantly increased levels of depression and anxiety in a population of more than 3,000 children aged between two to six-years-old.
Dr. Zucker, who is the director of the Duke Centre for Eating Disorders in the US, is eager to clarify the subject of the study, explaining: "The children we are talking about are not just misbehaving kids who refuse to eat their broccoli. These are children whose eating has become so limited or selective that it is starting to cause problems."
She explains that problems in this regard can manifest in various ways, saying: "Impairment can take many different forms. It can affect the child’s health, growth, social functioning and the parent-child relationship. "
Seeking to placate those concerned by their child's attitude to food, Dr. Zucker says: "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 wellbeing now, we need to start developing ways to help these parents and doctors to know when and how to intervene."
The study, which has established that more than one-fifth of children are categorised as 'selective eaters', has been published in the journal of Pediatrics
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