How children who are fussy eaters can end up healthier with above average measurements for height and weight
- Researchers tracked thousands of children marked out as fussy eaters aged 3
- Monitored eating habits and growth until the children reached their late teens
- Results found some did have periods when they were skinnier than average
- But most of them ended up slightly taller and bulkier than other children
Every parent of a picky eater worries that their child will end up undernourished and undersized.
But new research shows the majority not only turn out fine but often fare better than their peers who ate in abundance as tots.
Researchers at Bristol University tracked thousands of children marked out as fussy eaters by the age of three.
Every parent of a picky eater worries that their child will end up undernourished and undersized
They regularly monitored eating habits and growth until the children reached their late teens.
The results, in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed although some did have periods when they were skinnier than average, most ended up slightly taller and bulkier than other children.
Up to one in five children are classed as picky eaters, refusing to try unfamiliar – often healthy – foods like green vegetables and demanding parents only feed them favourite treats instead.
Most grow out of it but in around 40 per cent of cases it goes on for two years or more, during which time anxious parents fret over their child’s growth and wellbeing.
The NHS Choices website says parents can tackle the problem by ensuring the family eats meals together and giving the child small portions and offering praise when they at least try something different.
It adds: ‘If your child rejects the food don’t force them to eat it. Just take the food away without comment and try to stay calm.’
Researchers at Bristol University tracked thousands of kids marked out as fussy eaters by the age of three
The Bristol team wanted to see if periods of picky eating during childhood really did have long-term implications for health.
They tracked hundreds of children classed as fussy eaters and over a period of 10 years regularly checked their weight and height.
Although some encountered periods of below average size, by the time they reached 17, nearly all of them were above average for height, weight and body mass index.
In a report on the findings researchers said: ‘The growth trajectories of children who were picky eaters were reassuring.’
Last year, scientists at the University of Illinois in the US found picky eating could be at least partly due to genetic factors.