Eating problems among preschoolers are so common that doctors and researchers consider them as a problem. However, a new study has found that extreme selective eating could be a symptom for underlying problems like depression, anxiety and ADHD.

Study’s lead researcher Nancy Zucker of the Duke University Center for Eating Disorders said they have studied 917 children aged between two and six years. Out of the total, 20% of children showed signs of pickiness or selective eating.

Out of that percentage, nearly 3% were extreme cases of selective eating. “SE has been associated with impairment in emotional, physical and social domains. Both researchers and clinicians need to understand the level of severity at which SE causes impairment, so that practitioners can know when to intervene”, said the study researchers.

Cindy Whitmer of All Faiths Counseling Center in Atchison, Kansas, who has worked with children, parents and eating disorders for many years, said that there is a possibility that pickiness and selective eating could have a direct link with mental and emotional problems.

Researchers said some cases are so severe that children do not eat most of the food items. Also, they insist that the food items they eat should fill just one specific side of their plate and nowhere else. Gradually, these tendencies can enter into their other areas of life.

Ms. Whitmer has suggested that parents should closely monitor child’s picky eating habit. If it is found that selective eating is a byproduct of the child feeling that he should have control of the situation then let them have where it is appropriate. It will help children to feel more comfortable.