--- title: Picky Eating: A Reason to Worry Or Just a Phase? description: Despite the fact that many doctors dismiss picky eating as just a phase, a new study shows it may be a sign of deeper issues canonical: https://time.com/3981050/picky-eating-health-risks/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-03T14:06:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:02:13.287Z article:section: Health og:title: Here's Why To Take Your Child's Picky Eating Seriously og:description: Despite the fact that many doctors dismiss picky eating as just a phase, a new study shows it may be a sign of deeper issues og:url: https://time.com/3981050/picky-eating-health-risks/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9d7f62ea6f5d9f5/69885d72a988cab2696b3b5e/gettyimages-56809378.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4205 og:image:height: 2365 og:image:alt: 56809378 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's Why To Take Your Child's Picky Eating Seriously twitter:description: Despite the fact that many doctors dismiss picky eating as just a phase, a new study shows it may be a sign of deeper issues twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9d7f62ea6f5d9f5/69885d72a988cab2696b3b5e/gettyimages-56809378.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why You Should Worry About Picky Eaters > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Aug 3, 2015 2:06 PM UTC  Portrait of a boy sticking out his tongue at the dining table Portrait of a boy sticking out his tongue at the dining tableGlowimages—Getty Images/Glowimages  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Aug 3, 2015 2:06 PM UTC Rare is the child who will eat pretty much anything. Most toddlers develop specific favorite foods and, of more concern, absolute no-go foods. To a certain extent, that’s normal. But when eating preferences make it difficult for the child to eat with others, that could be a sign of more serious sensitivities, say scientists in a report appearing in _Pediatrics_. Nancy Zucker, director of the Duke University Center for Eating Disorders, and her colleagues looked into the implications of picky eating when she made a connection between more and more adults with eating-related issues who reported having been picky eaters as children. No studies had looked in depth at the longer term effects of selective eating during childhood, so Zucker studied 917 children two to nearly six years old who were enrolled in an anxiety study. The children’s parents recorded their eating habits, and the researchers conducted tests to determine how the children scored on measures of anxiety and symptoms of mood disorders. About 20% of the children were picky eaters, meaning they either ate only a restricted number of foods or could not eat with others because of their limited range of food preferences. Only about 3% fell into the latter category of severe selective eaters. Those children were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression or social anxiety. Even children in the moderately picky eating group were more likely to show symptoms of depression, social anxiety or attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder compared to children who weren’t picky eaters. Zucker says the findings shouldn’t alarm parents, but should help them and their doctors to start being more specific about when picky eating is normal and when it should be seen as a sign of possible anxiety issues. What may be happening, she says, is that selective eating may be a symptom of a broader hyper sensitivity. So for certain children who see, feel, hear and taste their world more intensely, being picky about which foods they eat may be a way of coping with an otherwise overwhelming influx of sensory information. “The restriction and narrowness in eating is a way of simplifying their rich, overwhelming world,” she says. She stresses that it’s only a theory, but in her study, there was evidence that for the severe picky eaters, and for some of the moderately picky ones, their aversion to certain food tastes and textures wasn’t just ‘yuck’ but involved gagging. While Zucker doesn’t want to turn picky eating into a “medical” condition, she does feel that parents need more guidance from pediatricians about what to do if their children become selective eaters. Parents are already confused by advice from pediatricians that includes urging them to feed their children a varied diet, including fruits and vegetables, to help their development, but at the same time telling them not to worry if their child refuses to eat certain foods. Her advice? “Try to get meal times back,” she says. That means not trying to force children to eat foods they don’t like at meals, since they’ll start associating the table with unpleasant experiences. Instead, try introducing them to new or non-favorite foods at different times, as part of food adventures, to help them become more comfortable with and willing to try new things. ### QUIZ: Should You Eat This or That?  Which is better for you: Half cup of ice cream or 3 scoops of sorbet? Getty Images (4)  Answer: A half cup of ice cream If you eat what you’re craving, you’re more likely to feel satisfied and eat less. And scoop for scoop sorbet contains twice the sugar with none of the filling dairy protein and fat. Getty Images (5); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: Real butter or spray on fake butter? Getty Images; Tara Johnson for TIME  Answer: Butter Serving size for spray butters (even low-calorie ones) are around a 1/3 second spray. What on earth does that mean? You're better off using a small amount of real butter as opposed to guessing how much you're using of the mystery melange of up to 20 ingredients. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: A turkey burger or a sirloin burger? Getty Images (2) ![Answer: Sirloin burger
Restaurant turkey burgers are often made with dark meat and the skin, so they’re not necessarily better for you \(and for the record, they aren't low-fat\). You can get a sirloin burger that’s 95% lean meat and gives you 20 g of protein. Just be careful with the toppings.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte1b297940ae4e4e0/6986970ce53aba0cb54d318e/sirloin-burger.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp) Answer: Sirloin burger Restaurant turkey burgers are often made with dark meat and the skin, so they’re not necessarily better for you (and for the record, they aren't low-fat). You can get a sirloin burger that’s 95% lean meat and gives you 20 g of protein. Just be careful with the toppings. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: Almonds or pretzels? Getty Images (2)  Answer: Almonds Almonds are high in protein, fiber and fat and will keep you feeling fuller longer. Give high-sodium pretzels about an hour and you'll feel hungry again thanks to the high-carb no-fat or protein content. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: Special K or eggs? AP; Getty Images  Answer: Eggs In the morning, you want a meal that will fill you up. Eggs offer protein and fat for satiety, but Special K cereal really only offers carbs and, well, air. If you want carbs to kick off the day, you're better off pairing eggs with a slice of 100% whole grain toast. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: Fat free salad dressing or regular salad dressing? Tara Johnson for TIME  Answer: Regular salad dressingTo absorb fat soluble vitamins like Vitamins E and K in vegetables you need to consume them with a fat to aid nutrient absorption. Fat-free dressing, meanwhile, is low-calorie but gets its flavor from added sugar and salt. Tara Johnson for TIME (5); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: A low fat cookie or dark chocolate? Getty Images (2)  Answer: Dark chocolate “People believe fat free is calorie free,” says Keri Gans, a registered dietitian in New York City. “Go for the real thing.” Fat free cookies tend to be high in carbs, sugar and fake sugar. Try a nice piece of antioxidant-rich dark chocolate instead. Getty Images (2); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME  Which is better for you: Low fat Greek yogurt or 100 calorie Yoplait yogurt? Tara Johnson for TIME  Answer: 2% Greek YogurtA little fat is good in the morning to keep you full—plus it has upwards of 17g of protein per container. Fat-free "fruit" yogurt is high in sugar—7 to 10 g per serving—and lower in protein. Tara Johnson for TIME (2); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME _Read next:_ [_This Is How Much It Costs To Raise A Ballerina_](http://time.com/money/4004565/cost-raise-ballerina/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Download TIME’s mobile app for iOS to have your world explained wherever you go_](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/time-mobile/id328218429) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3981050/picky-eating-health-risks/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3981050/picky-eating-health-risks/"},"headline":"Why You Should Worry About Picky Eaters","datePublished":"2015-08-03T14:06:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:13.287Z","description":"Despite the fact that many doctors dismiss picky eating as just a phase, a new study shows it may be a sign of deeper issues","url":"https://time.com/3981050/picky-eating-health-risks/","keywords":["Mental Health/Psychology","Depression","Anxiety","Mental Illness","Diet & Nutrition"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9d7f62ea6f5d9f5/69885d72a988cab2696b3b5e/gettyimages-56809378.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc9d7f62ea6f5d9f5/69885d72a988cab2696b3b5e/gettyimages-56809378.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"56809378","caption":"56809378","creditText":"Glowimages—Getty Images/Glowimages","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/mental-healthpsychology/","name":"Mental Health/Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3981050/picky-eating-health-risks/","name":"Why You Should Worry About Picky Eaters"}}]}] ```