Fussy eating in children signals a higher chance they will go on to suffer from mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, research suggests
By Laura Donnelly, Health Editor
6:00AM BST 03 Aug 2015
Picky eating in small children may be a sign of serious mental problems that should not be ignored, say experts.
Parents and doctors who view food fussiness as a passing phase could be making a grave mistake, a study suggests.
Even “moderate” pickiness was associated with significantly increased levels of depression and anxiety in a population of more than 3,000 children aged two to six.
Those with highly selective eating habits were more than twice as likely as normal eaters to have a diagnosis of depression.
Lead researcher Dr Nancy Zucker, director of the Duke Centre for Eating Disorders in the US, said: “The question for many parents and physicians is: when is picky eating truly a problem?
“The children we’re talking about are not just misbehaving kids who refuse to eat their broccoli.”