This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Nicholls, D. Articles by Lask, B. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Nicholls, D. Articles by Lask, B. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Selective Eating: Symptom, Disorder or Normal Variant

Institute of Child Health, London, UK

Deborah Christie

The Adolescent Unit, Middlesex Hospital, London, UK

Louise Randall

Royal Free Hospital, London, UK

Bryan Lask

St George’s Hospital Medical School and Huntercombe Manor Hospital, UK

Selective eating is the little studied phenomenon of eating a highly limited range of foods, associated with an unwillingness to try new foods. Common in toddlers, it can persist into middle childhood and adolescence in a small number of children, most commonly boys. When this happens social avoidance, anxiety and conflict can result. This article describes a sample of 20 children with selective eating who presented for help to a specialist eating clinic. We outline the presenting features and associated phenomena for the group, suggest an approach to treatment, and explore from a theoretical point of view where this symptom, disorder or normal variant fits into the spectrum of childhood eating difficulties.

Key Words: eating disorder • feeding problem • selective eating

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?