This text has been translated from Norwegian with the assistance of GPT UiO.
– Such picky eating patterns are also linked to greater challenges in social, emotional, and behavioural development as children grow up, says Ludvig Daae Bj?rndal. He works at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo (UiO), and is the first author of the study, which has just been published in JAMA Pediatrics.
A substantial number with persistent symptoms?
The researchers found that between 6% and 18% of the children showed symptoms of avoidant or restrictive eating of varying duration. In 6%, symptoms persisted from ages 3 to 8. In 18%, symptoms were present only at age 3. Between 1% and 3% also had at least one indicator of clinically significant consequenses of the eating pattern, such as delayed growth or weight loss.
Bj?rndal and colleagues’ study is based on data from around 35,000 children in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). The dataset includes information on, among other things, eating patterns at ages 3 and 8. Other developmental characteristics—such as neurodevelopment, language, behaviour, and mental health—were also mapped across childhood.
May be negative for development
Children with persistent symptoms had greater developmental challenges in social, emotional, and behavioural domains from 6 months to 14 years of age. According to Bj?rndal, the prevalence of certain diagnoses given in specialist health services (including autism, ADHD, and epilepsy) was also higher in this group.
– The study provides new knowledge on the prevalence and developmental challenges among children with symptoms of avoidant and restrictive eating disorders, says Bj?rndal.
– But it also highlights how important early screening of picky eating patterns and targeted support has become for many children who show lasting symptoms, he emphasises.
Relatively new diagnosis
The study shows that this pattern of eating is relatively common and is associated with several developmental difficulties during childhood.
An avoidant and/or restrictive eating pattern means that children eat very selectively and often have a narrow and limited diet. This behaviour is the core symptom of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, abbreviated to ARFID.
– ARFID is a relatively new diagnosis. There is therefore limited knowledge about how common such symptoms are, how they relate to children’s development in general, and to physical and mental health, explains Bj?rndal.
More about the study
The article “Prevalence, Characteristics, and Genetic Architecture of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Phenotypes” in JAMA Pediatrics is a collaboration between the Department of Psychology (UiO), the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), and Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital.
The study was led by the PsychGen Centre, an interdisciplinary research environment at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital, as well as PROMENTA at the University of Oslo.