What makes people picky eaters

There may be developmental difficulties in some children with persistent picky eating. There is little evidence, however, for a consistent effect of being a picky eater on growth trajectories. There may be a small subgroup of children in whom picky eating does not resolve who might be at risk of thinness during adolescence, or of developing an eating disorder or adult picky eating: these children need to be identified at an early age to enable support, monitoring and advice to be offered to parents.

Papillae, small visible bumps lining the tongue, contain taste cells, which are clustered into buds to form neuronal connections with the brain.

Chemicals from food dissolve in saliva, where they then enter a taste bud and bind to specific receptors on the cell. This then causes an electrical impulse to travel to the brain where it is further processed with other cognitive information, such as memory and perceptual expectations. So those pina coladas you love? Probably because they remind you of spring break.

The intensity, or concentration, of a taste will also play a role in pickiness. Spiciness, for example, is particularly polarizing. Many are able to stand the heat, while others need to shy away from even the mildest of spices.

Picky eaters also typically travel with snacks, and are very brand loyal. No one just wakes up on their 30th birthday suddenly liking broccoli. You have to eat it, and eat it, and eventually, you may start to like it. It may take a new cooking method, or just the right type of seasoning. And you just may never like broccoli, no matter how hard you try. As long as your diet is healthy overall and you're getting enough vegetables from other sources, that's fine.

But to even have a shot at being less picky, you definitely have to be committed. Expanding your eating horizons can make everything from date night to a vacation easier and more enjoyable.

Treatment involves systematic desensitization, so slowly introducing new foods into your diet until they become familiar and welcome. Start small—one new fruit or veggie at a time—and work your way up to more adventurous things when you're ready. If you never are? Give kids guidelines about what that means — one dessert per day, three meals a day, one afterschool snack, or whatever the eating schedule is, Rose says.

Forbidding sweets entirely can backfire, potentially leading kids to overindulge or abuse them when those foods are available, she adds. Give kids a candy drawer that they can reach and talk to your kids about what amount of sweets is appropriate for them to be eating, Rose suggests.

If Johnny decides to eat a piece of candy after lunch as his sweet for the day, he may need to skip having a cookie after dinner even if his sister decided to have her sweet for the day then. Making mealtimes a struggle or battleground sets up both the parent and kids for failure when it comes to trying new foods and eating well. For a lot of kids, becoming a picky eater is a mechanism that solves some sort of unrelated problem for them — it eliminates pressure or gives them control, Rose says.

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