Relationship between pickiness and subsequent development in body mass index and diet intake in obesity prone normal weight preschool children

Abstract

BackgroundMost children have periods in their life where they reject familiar as well as non-familiar food items and this is often referred to as pickiness. The consequences of pickiness may be malnutrition and, if prolonged, potentially lower body weight. However, studies investigating the consequence of pickiness on subsequent changes in diet intake and weight are limited.ObjectivesTo examine whether pickiness influences body mass index as well as diet intake over subsequent 15 months among obesity prone normal weight children aged 2–6 years.MethodsData was obtained from the “Healthy Start” intervention study which included 271 children aged 2–6 years susceptible to overweight later in life. Information on pickiness was obtained from a parental questionnaire. Dietary habits were collected by 4-day dietary records filled in by the parents and height and weight were measured by trained health professionals and both measured twice over a 15 month period. Linear regression models were performed to assess the influence of pickiness on body mass index and diet with adjustments for possible confounders.ResultsNo differences in mean BMI Z-score were seen between picky/non-picky (P = 0.68) and little picky/non-picky (P = 0.68) children at 15 month follow-up. Picky children had a lower intake of protein (P = 0.01) than non-picky children despite no differences in total energy intake (P = 0.74), or in the other macronutrients, or the intake of fruit and vegetables, though children being a little picky had a lower intake of starch compared to non-picky children (P = 0.05). Results were essentially similar before and after adjustment for key covariates.ConclusionOur study showed that BMI Z-score after 15 months follow-up was similar for picky and non-picky children. Picky children seemed to develop a lower protein intake despite similar total energy intake and diet composition.

Duration of exclusive breastfeeding may be related to eating behaviour and dietary intake in obesity prone normal weight young children

“…Further, we have data on picky eating behaviour again in the same children 15 months later. The intervention did not show any effects on picky eating behaviour [ 13 ], thus we use data on picky eating behaviour from the 15 months follow-up to investigate if eating behaviour changed over time.…”

“…Children that tend to have picky eating behaviours often have a lower diet quality [ 10 ], eat less fruit and vegetables [ 11 – 14 ] and have higher intakes of sugary foods and drinks [ 15 ]. The consequences of pickiness can be malnutrition and may, if prolonged, have an impact on weight development and risk of overweight and obesity [ 16 ], even though not all studies have observed this association [ 13 ]. The acceptance of healthy food choices later in childhood seems associated with breastfeeding duration independent of socio-economic status (SES) [ 17 ].…”

Correlation of Picky Eating in Children’s Growth: A Systematic Review

“…15 studies in this review included children younger than 17 years old, 5 of these were cohort studies. Our finding that severe or persistent picky eating is associated with increased odds of underweight suggests that these studies are describing different eating behaviors than many of the other studies like a recent article by Rohde et al (Rohde et al, 2017). A study conducted in China said that small children with picky eating and heavy low-for-height behaviors have a less optimal diet and are at risk of significant food and nutritional deficiencies (Volger et al, 2017).…”

Identification and Characterization of Families That Are Positively Deviant for Childhood Obesity in a Latino Population: A Case-Control Study

“…The qualitative data suggested greater self-efficacy specific to picky eating in positive deviants. Recent longitudinal data on picky eating in early childhood and subsequent weight status have not shown a consistent relationship, although these studies were not done in a Latino population [ 46 , 47 ]. A recent study in a low-income, mixed race, preschool population found no association between picky eating and obesity but did find an association with healthy eating patterns and picky eating [ 48 ].…”