Children who are picky eaters may have more problems than the lack of a well-balanced diet. A new study from Duke University researchers found that children who are moderately or extremely picky eaters are more likely to have symptoms of depression, anxiety and other psychiatric disorders and may need counseling.

About 1 in 5 children is a picky eater, and a new study says these kids are more likely than their peers to suffer from psychological disorders. (Photo: rushedmommy.com)

According to the study, published in the Aug. 3 issue of the journal Pediatrics, more than 20 percent of children ages 2 to 6 are selective eaters. Of them, nearly 18 percent were classified as moderately picky. The remaining children, about 3 percent, were classified as severely selective — so restrictive in their food intake that it limited their ability to eat with others.

To be classified as picky, the kids have to do more than just shun broccoli or other foods kids normally don’t like. If they limited their eating to a range of preferred foods, they were considered to have a “moderate” case of selective eating. If that range of foods was so narrow that it was hard for them to eat with other people, their selective eating was labeled “severe.”

“The question for many parents and physicians is: when is picky eating truly a problem?” said psychologist Nancy Zucker, director of the Duke Center for Eating Disorders. “The children we’re talking about are not just misbehaving kids who refuse to eat their broccoli.”

Picky eaters were quite common. The team found 18 percent of the children were moderate selective eaters and an additional 3 percent had a severe case of the condition. Those figures were in line with previous studies that found 14-20 percent of preschoolers were selective about the foods they ate at least some of the time.

Children with both moderate and severe selective eating habits showed symptoms of anxiety and other mental conditions. The study also found that children with selective eating behaviors were nearly twice as likely to have increased symptoms of generalized anxiety at follow-up intervals during the study, which screened an initial 3,433 children.

Children who are overly picky may have mental issues or ADHD. (Photo: Mark Umbrella/ShutterStock)

“These are children whose eating has become so limited or selective that it’s starting to cause problems,” Zucker said. “Impairment can take many different forms. It can affect the child’s health, growth, social functioning and the parent-child relationship. The child can feel like no one believes them, and parents can feel blamed for the problem.”

The study found that both moderate and severe selective eating were associated with significantly elevated symptoms of depression, social anxiety and generalized anxiety. Although children with moderate picky eating did not show an increased likelihood of formal psychiatric diagnoses, children with severe selective eating were more than twice as likely to also have a diagnosis of depression.

Picky eating may be a sign that a young child has psychiatric problems that need to be addressed. In the study, children with severe cases of selective eating were about twice as likely as to be diagnosed with depression compared with kids who ate a normal range of foods. They were also 2.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with social anxiety, according to the study.

The findings also suggest that parents are in conflict with their children regularly over food — which does not necessarily result in the child eating — and families and their doctors need new tools to address the problem, Zucker said. “There’s no question that not all children go on to have chronic selective eating in adulthood,” she said. “But because these children are seeing impairment in their health and well-being now, we need to start developing ways to help these parents and doctors know when and how to intervene.”

Zucker said some children who refuse to eat might have heightened senses, which can make the smell, texture and tastes of certain foods overwhelming, causing aversion and disgust. Some children may have had a bad experience with a certain food and develop anxiety when trying another new food or being forced to try the offensive food again, she said.

Some children may benefit from therapy. But traditional methods may not address children with sensory sensitivities, for whom some smells and flavors are too intense and may never be palatable. New interventions are needed to deal with children who have sensory sensitivity and frequent experiences of palpable disgust, Zucker said. Treatments also need to be better tailored to a patient’s age range.

One benefit to spotting picky eating in young children is that it’s a condition parents can easily recognize, and it could be a good tool for identifying who may be at risk for anxiety and depression. “It’s a good way to get high-risk children into interventions, especially if the parents are asking for help,” Zucker said.

For almost all of us, work can be a consistent source of anxiety. Stress in small doses can be a powerful tool to help motivate us to push ourselves to achieve. However, large quantities can lead to physical problems that follow you out of your office.

Stress at work can affect your health. (Photo: ThinkStock)

Common outcomes include:

1. Fatigue : Anxiety can lead to tossing and turning at night, and the reduced amount of sleep can yield both short- and long-term consequences. For example, did you know that operating on limited amounts of sleep can lead you to conjure false memories? It can also lead to anti-social behavior, irrational decision-making and communication struggles. Over time, consistent lack of sleep can severely impact your health, leading to conditions like heart disease and diabetes.
2. Tension headaches: Stress and related emotions can manifest themselves in the form of headaches. This can lead to throbbing pain towards the front and side of your head, as well as sensitivity to light, irritability and, as mentioned above, trouble sleeping.
3. Weight issues: People are more likely to neglect their health when stressed in favor of immediate relief, often found in excessive eating, smoking or alcohol consumption. All of these can have a negative impact on your overall weight and wellbeing. To top it off, stress can influence the hormones that dictate where the body positions mass, leading to fat being increasingly stored in the gut region.
4. Diabetes: As eluded to above, an unhealthy diet and drinking habits can lead to increased weight and, relatedly, an increased likelihood of diabetes. To further worsen the situation, stress can cause those who have the disease to increasingly experience spikes in glucose levels.
5. Breakouts: Acne is not as severe as heart failure, but pimples can certainly be a source of discontent. The breakouts are accredited to the hormone irregularity that is often triggered by stress, leading to the skin producing excess sebum. Plus, unhealthy diets and smoking can also contribute to acne.

Find ways to retreat to a mental “safe place” throughout the day like closing your eyes and meditating in an empty conference room. (Photo: Whole Science)

What can you do to reduce the amount of mental and emotional strain you regularly endure? For starters, make sure to set boundaries with yourself and others. If you’re asked to forfeit sleep or important plans, speak up and politely ask for an alternative that won’t require you to risk your physical and emotional wellbeing. What’s more, find ways to retreat to a mental “safe place” throughout the day. This could mean going for walks during your lunch hour, closing your eyes and meditating in an empty conference room or perhaps breaking a sweat at the gym before or after heading into the office. Of course, outside help through a therapist is always a viable option. Experiment with what brings you the greatest serenity so work’s pressures doesn’t take its toll on your overall happiness and health.

If you manage other individuals, there are steps you can take to reduce the amount of stress endured by employees. You can lessen workloads or lower expectations, but there are far better solutions that don’t hinder overall output.

One of the greatest sources of stress stems from the feeling of lack of support from both colleagues and superiors. As a manager, try to nurture a team environment in which members feel like they can trust their fellows and come to you with their frustrations. Unless workers are under performing, your staff should feel secure in their jobs.

Uncertainty will not only lead to greater stress, but your retention rate will fall. Show your appreciation through verbal praise, bonuses and thoughtful gestures like gift cards or custom branded goods. There are plenty of options from timepieces to flower seed packets. Such gifts demonstrate your gratitude for employees’ hard work in order to make the job seem less “thankless.”

Article by Michelle Hough

With Thanksgiving soon approaching, you can’t help but feel anxious. You want to be excited for all the delicious food and booze, but realize you’re about to take a big jump in your relationship: You’re meeting the family. Your significant other has decided things are serious enough that they want you to sit at the dinning room table with their family as they pass the peas.

Be prepared for fake smiles and awkward small talk. (Photo: sheknows.com)

As happy as you are to be invited to take such a big stride in your relationship, you can’t help to think that this is going to make or break your relationship. A million thoughts are running through your head. Are his parents going to like me more than his ex? Will they remember my name? Should I only talk when spoken to?

Reality is that they probably are equally as nervous to meet and impress you. So take a big breath. I’ve decided to help and leave you with three points to follow this holiday season. By following these rules, you are most likely to impress and leave a great impression on this thankful night.

1. Keep calm and open wide: There’s a ton of delicious dishes surrounding you, but you can’t seem to keep anything down. You’ve got an awful case of the butterflies, and they are stopping you from eating anything. The only way this night is going to run smoothly is if you tell the butterflies to go away. You don’t want to insult your partner’s family by not eating anything they slaved to make. Plus, you know if you don’t eat you’ll either embarrass yourself by staring at someone else’s plate or passing out on the couch from starvation. So don’t let that food go to waste. Take a big bite out of Granny’s mac and cheese and show that you aren’t a shy eater.

 

2. Cover up the goods: On this holiday, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Throw on some boots and a sweater dress, and show that you are classy, not trashy. Remember that first impressions are everything, and you don’t want a scandalous outfit to be your defining moment among your partner’s family.

 

3. Count your blessings and your drinks: Alcohol is known for being liquid courage, which tends to come in handy in awkward or uncomfortable situations. But too much courage can lead to instant embarrassment. Although you might want to chug an entire bottle of wine before you meet the family, resist and pace yourself throughout the night.

Takeaway

Just follow these guidelines and you should leave a positive, lasting impression on your partner’s family. So go over with an hefty appetite, dressed cute yet comfortably, and tipsy enough to crack jokes but not fall over. Just be yourself, and the family would be crazy not to love you and be thankful that you’re in your partner’s life.

You may be sleep-deprived. “Oh, yeah,” you’re thinking. “Breaking news that I don’t get enough sleep, Tini.” But how many of us do? According to an article from Discovery Health, up to 45 percent of the world’s adults don’t get enough sleep. Be it insomnia, multiple jobs or simply having too much TV to catch up on (does everything good have to come on Sunday nights?), here are some symptoms that you could cure with just a few good nights of rest.

Sleep like this guy. (Photo: New Picx)

Behavioral troubles

Low tolerance for stress or an inability to focus on words on a page? Sleep deprivation could be the cause. While sleep isn’t a magic cure for serious behavioral issues such as anxiety disorder or ADHD, if you’re feeling like seeing a doctor for behavioral issues, it might be a good idea to document your sleep schedule. What seems like a sudden and odd change in focus or calm may be related to constant waking throughout the night, a new sleep partner or anything else that could prevent you from getting your best rest.

Weight gain

Well obviously, if you’re not awake eating your midnight snack, you’re getting more sleep. But more than that — sleep deprivation makes it more difficult to control cravings, leading to unhealthy food choices that bring about weight gain. Additionally, your brain metabolizes sugars at a lower rate when exhausted, meaning it takes more food for you to start feeling full. The Sleep Diet may be crazy, but if you’re trying to shed pounds, it can’t hurt to make sure you’re catching enough Zs.

Relationship strife

If you’re suddenly not getting along with a roommate, significant other or family member, your lack of sleep can actually be to blame! Perhaps it’s a snoring problem or sleep apnea, but sleep deprivation can be the cause of all sorts of troubles. Risky decision making, mood swings or a low libido are all catalysts for an epic fight. And if you’re still sleep deprived when the guns come out, you can count on a moody, stressful argument that won’t feel any better later, when your sleep-weakened motor skills can’t even pull your gallon of ice cream from the freezer. Bummer.

Whatever’s got you down, it’s possible sleep could be the cure! Mom and Dad knew what they were saying when they told you to sleep on it. So today, order decaf, pull out your fuzzy jammies and give your body the rest it craves.

It’s that time of year again — time for kids to head back to school. Children are filled with a mix of emotion, from dread to eagerness, acceptance to excitement.

But the start of a new school year can be a time of anxiety, too, for kids and parents alike. The more laidback schedule and tenor of summer is coming to an end, to be replaced with fast-paced mornings and hectic weeknights. Anxious moments and doubts can be especially present for children making a milestone transition from home to kindergarten, grade school to middle school, middle school to high school, or high school to college.

It’s time for kids to go back to school. (Photo: Naos Wellness Architects)

“The less experience you have — as a parent or a child — with going back to school, the harder it can be,” said James Waxmonsky, chief of child psychiatry at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

Waxmonsky says that parents need to recognize that it’s natural to worry when their child starts something new. But, he says, kids readily pick up on our emotional states, so worried parents can lead to unnecessarily worried children.

“Kids mirror our mental state,” he said. “Even if we think we are good at masking how we feel, if we approach something with anxiety and dread, it will affect kids and their routine. It’s most important to be aware of your feelings and present a calm, hopeful way of looking at things.”

Parents can help their children view back-to-school transitions positively in a number of ways:

• Start transitioning to a back-to-school routine early, even before the first day of school. This will make the transition less dramatic on the first few days by easing everyone into the new routine.
• Know school logistics, such as the name of your child’s teacher or teachers; the school bus route and schedule; and lunch food options. The more detail you have, the more comfortable you’ll be and the better you can prepare your child.
• Help older children learn to organize their school belongings (like backpacks and lockers) and set their own schedule to let them take some ownership of the new routine.
• Know there will be some bumps, and that most will work themselves out along the way. Take advantage of school resources to help address any unresolved issues after the first two weeks or so.

 
Article by Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

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