Why a child who’s a fussy eater is better off than an eager one: new study

Is your child a fussy eater or a happy one?

A recent study has categorized children into a handful of eating groups to explain their behavior.

Experts — noting eight markers for food responsiveness, emotional overeating, food enjoyment, desire to drink, satiety responsiveness, slowness in eating, emotional undereating and food fussiness — determined that all children fit into four handy categories: avid, avoidant, happy and typical.

Researchers from Aston University, Loughborough University, Kings College London and University College London surveyed 995 parents and caretakers of 3- to 5-year-olds in England and Wales about their children’s eating habits.

The researchers conducted the study — published in the peer-reviewed journal Appetite — to help predict which children may be more at risk of developing unhealthy eating habits and becoming overweight.

Surprisingly, only the smallest minority (16%) of children were categorized as “avoidant” or fussy eaters.

That small but frustrating group was found to have “significantly high levels of food fussiness, satiety responsiveness, slowness in eating, and emotional undereating concomitant with significantly low levels of food enjoyment” compared to the others.

Although adults often dread mealtimes, a significant number of children (44%) were considered “typical” eaters with average levels of all eight markers, and about 18% were labeled as “happy” eaters.

But the most concerning children were one in five (22%) categorized as “avid” eaters.

That group was characterized by enjoying food, cleaning their plate quickly and not responding to internal cues of “fullness” while wanting to eat — or eating more — in response to the sight, smell or taste of foods they like. They also indicate a higher level of emotional overeating.

The researchers noted that these eating behaviors could lead children to overeat and gain weight in an unhealthy way.

“Parents can use this research to help them understand what type of eating pattern their child presents. Then based on the child’s eating profile the parent can adapt their feeding strategies to the child,” Aston researcher Dr Abigail Pickard said in a statement.

“For example, children in the avid eating profile may benefit more from covert restriction of food, i.e., not bringing snacks into the home or not having foods on display, to reduce the temptation to eat foods in the absence of hunger.

“Whereas,” she continued, “if a child shows fussy eating behavior, it would be more beneficial for the child to have a balanced and varied selection of foods on show to promote trying foods without pressure to eat.”

This research comes as rates of childhood obesity continue to rise at an alarming speed with the problem now affecting nearly 20% of kids and teens in the U.S., as well as about 42% of adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In response to the growing issue, the American Academy of Pediatrics set ages for medical experts to begin offering children and teens medical treatments such as drugs and surgery earlier this year.

The experts insisted that “watchful waiting” — or delaying treatment to see whether children and teens outgrow or overcome obesity on their own — only worsens the problem that affects more than 14.4 million young people in the US.

If left untreated, obesity can lead to a long list of lifelong health problems, including sleep apnea, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cancer, depression and even death.