There are two types of eaters: the ones that eat with untamable craving and the ones who are picky and very careful at what they place on their taste buds. The first ones fall into the greedy, gourmand, category, while the others are the pretentious, analytic characters who are not satisfied by just any type of food, instead they carefully choose and select their preferences.
A new study reveals that picky eaters are more likely to develop depression. This comes as no surprise, if we think about it, as selection has always been linked to over thinking, high standards and fanciness. These are the attributes of the constantly unsatisfied people, who are more likely to turn their lack of satisfaction into depression, which is another definition for unsatisfied expectations.
The expertise goes further by revealing that moderate and severe cases of selective eating are associated with high symptoms of anxiety and depression in later years. The study was performed on children who tend to be extremely picky sometimes, when it comes to food. Moderate cases of pretentious eaters are associated with symptoms of separation anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, more commonly known as ADHD. The entire piece of research can be found in the journal Pediatrics and it was released yesterday.
As we have learned from the extensive piece of research, the analysis involved more than 900 children between the ages of two and six, for an average difference of three years. The study laid focus on a very serious issue that was oftentimes trivialized or perceived as transitory both by patients and doctors. Picky eating among children is not merely random and it could bring up a set of highly interesting hypothesis, as it could have long-term consequences. However, as the experts noted, even if associations with mental disorders could be possible, the study did not actually prove that picky eating leads to psychological symptoms. Researchers also stated that some of the associations were not extremely strong.
Among kids involved in the study, almost 18% were identified as moderate picky eaters. Another 3% were described as severe picky eaters, as they had difficulty eating with others due to their extremely limited diet which forced them to stop or avoid certain activities. The most relevant category of children were the severe picky eaters, which are more likely to have an actual diagnosis of depression or social anxiety in later years. The study excluded kids with autism, who have a very high tendency to be selective eaters.
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