Children who are overly selective about the foods they eat are more prone to anxiety and depression, researchers say. Share on Pinterest To most parents, a young picky eater is merely going through a negative phase. But, according to researchers at Duke University School of Medicine, the condition may be linked to depression and anxiety disorders. According to their study, published today in the journal Pediatrics, more than 20 percent of children ages 2 to 6 are what the scientists call selective eaters. Most of that group was classified as moderately picky. The remaining children, about 3 percent of all children, were classified as severely selective. Their food intake was so limited that it affected their ability to eat with others. That meant a parent often had to produce a separate meal for them because they wouldn’t or couldn’t eat what the rest of the family had. Read More: Are Your Children Getting a Balanced Diet? »

The Problem with Picky Eaters Nancy Zucker, Ph.D., is the director of the Duke Center for Eating Disorders and lead author of the study. She stressed the importance of families and physicians determining when picky eating reaches problem proportions. “The children we’re talking about are not just misbehaving kids who refuse to eat their broccoli,” she said in a press release. The study found that both moderate and severe selective eating was associated with significantly elevated symptoms of depression, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety. One conclusion that emerged from the study is the importance of more active communication by pediatricians and other clinicians while the child is still young, according to William Copeland, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychiatry at Duke and a co-author of the study. “We need to help these parents,” he told Healthline. “We need to learn how [the child’s eating] affects the family and how to make referrals for further help.” At the same time, pediatricians need to monitor the child. The picky eating may be a marker for emotional problems later on, Copeland said. “Right now most parents aren’t getting any assistance,” he said. Read More: Diet Tips for Children with ADHD »

How Anxiety Is Linked to Selective Eating The study looked at preschool children with both moderate and severe selective eating habits who showed symptoms of anxiety and other mental conditions. The study, which screened an initial 3,433 children coming to well-child clinics, also found that those with selective eating behaviors were nearly twice as likely to have increased symptoms of generalized anxiety at follow-up intervals. Children with moderate and severe patterns of selective eating meet the criteria for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, an eating disorder and a new diagnosis included in the most recent Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The study also found that selective eating was less common in African American families than in white ones. As Copeland noted, “We’re not sure what to do with that information.” Zucker said some picky eaters might have heightened senses that can make the smell, texture, and tastes of certain foods overwhelming, causing aversion and disgust. For other children, the behavior is triggered by a bad experience with a certain food. They become anxious when confronted by another new food or being forced to try the offensive food again, she said. Does picky eating cause other emotional problems or does the child start out vulnerable to different sorts of anxiety, including food issues? “We don’t have all the answers,” Copeland said. “We don’t know if it’s cause and effect. We’re relatively certain there’s a link. Anxious kids may over-respond to feelings.” More research needs to be done. “There is not a simple silver bullet solution,” Copeland said.