Is Picky Eating The Newest Mental Disorder?
January 25, 2012 No Comments
Picky eating could soon be added to a medically recognized list of mental illnesses and eating disorders. This kind of eating disorder isn’t as simple as not eating your broccoli. This is for people whose eating habits interfere with having a functional life.
For some, “avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder” (ARFID) comes from a fear of eating — a child may have gotten a stomach flu the last time they ate or an adult male could have had a choking incident. For others their food preferences are so specific and limiting that they refuse to eat out, at work or at a friend’s house.
Even seemingly healthy habits like eating all organic foods can be bad for you if it limits your intake of nutrients, according to psychologists who study ARFID.
Many doctors are arguing that this type of behaviour be added to the next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 2013. Others argue that this is turning plain old weird behaviour into a medical problem. Is adding picky eating to this list just feeding the flames of our tendency to over-diagnose and over-medicate?
I think not. Although picky eating may not be as dangerous as other mental disorders, it should be taken seriously. I know vegetarians who clearly do not get enough protein and vegans who are starving themselves to maintain their diet. These things do not make you healthy. Other people really will not eat foods of a certain colour or texture.
If these habits are negatively influencing peoples’ lives or nutrition, it’s definitely worth considering them a disorder. If talking to a doctor will help people with these behaviours, then I am all for it.
Contact the author here: jennY@morningquickie.com
