Are you having problems in feeding your child? Is he or she a picky eater? A recent study says that a child who displays pickiness might have an underlying health or mental condition. In the study published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, the researchers suggested that selective eating in extreme cases was a symptom of other issues like depression, anxiety or ADHD.
In fact, picky eating, even at moderate levels has been linked with psychiatric problems and the mental problems worsened as the pickiness became severe, reports NBC News. "We need to do a better job of giving advice to these parents," Nancy Zucker, study co-author and associate professor of psychology at Duke University said in a statement.
To land to their findings, they studied a total of 917 children between 2 and 6 years old. They found out that 20 percent of the children manifested picky eating and 3 percent of that number were at the extreme cases, reports News Press Now.
The researchers pointed out, picky eaters are more sensitive to the taste, smell and texture of food than those who are not. They manifest disgust over foods they do not like and this phenomenon wherein a child experiences the world more intensely could signal an underlying emotional or mental problem.
Many parents are becoming anxious as their children are becoming picky eaters. Well, doctors say that if the children will see their parents anxious over the situation, this will make them anxious as well. Hence, it is worsening the symptoms of picky eating. There are many strategies to follow to help children eat and one of these is putting creativity into cooking. Serving children with artistic plating and delicious dishes would make them want to eat for fun and satiety.
