CONTEXT
Picky eating is very common children, with up to 50% being picky at some point. There is no single widely accepted definition of picky eating (also known as fussy, faddy or choosy eating), although most include refusing familiar foods, sometimes combined with refusal of new foods.
Picky eating in children reaches a peak at about 3-5 years old, usually with a gradual tailing off during early school years. In this way, picky eating in children can be regarded almost as a ‘normal’ part of child development that disappears without the need for help from healthcare professionals. In some children, however, it continues into adulthood. Adult picky eating is thought to be more common in those who were picky eaters as a child, particularly those who experienced pressure from parents to eat particular foods or had an upsetting event involving a food, such as choking.
CHALLENGE
We don’t know very much about how picky eating affects the lives of adults, but it is likely to be a secretive and distressing experience causing social isolation and loneliness. We also know very little about it affects the quality of their diet as an adult and in turn how that influences long-term health. The diets of children who are picky eaters have been well studied, showing restriction of the variety and quality of foods eaten, with concern about effects on children’s growth and development. Again we know very little about the diets of adult picky eaters: studies in the USA have found they ate fewer and less variety of fruits and vegetables, were less likely to have a healthy dietary style.