The first study to see if fussy-eating children grow into fussy-eating adults

By Christian Jarrett Fussy eating – also referred to as “selective eating” in scholarly research – is incredibly common among children, with upper estimates placing the prevalence at 50 per cent. Despite this, many parents understandably fret when their kids avoid a lot of foods, won’t try new things and/or will only eat certain meals. They worry whether their child is getting enough vitamins and if their child’s fussiness is some kind of precursor to later more serious eating problems. A new, small study in Eating Behaviors is the first to document how fussy eating develops in the same individuals over time into early adulthood and may provide a crumb (sorry) of comfort for anxious parents. It’s true that 60 per cent of fussy eating children in the study were also fussy eaters at age 23, but fussy eating young adults were no more likely to report signs of eating disorder than their non-fussy peers. The researchers led by Meredith Van Tine at Stanford University School of Medicine managed to catch up with 61 individuals, now aged 23, who’d participated as children in a long-running study in which their eating habits had been scored by their parents at ages 2, 7, 9.5 and 11, including any signs of fussy eating (being a “selective eater”, having strong likes and dislikes, and only eating a limited variety of foods etc). The participants were now asked to rate themselves on whether they were selective or fussy eaters, and they...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Developmental Eating Mental health Source Type: blogs