Our eating habits are very important in determining our future health, especially during childhood. In a recent study on picky eating in children, researchers found that if a child is a picky eater, then he or she will most likely suffer from psychological disorders. Although we all know that eating habits determine our physical health, whether it is being overweight or underweight, is it possible through this recent research that picky eating can determine our mental health?

Researchers of Duke University assessed eating habits of preschoolers and found that children with severe cases of picky eating were twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression and social anxiety. These researchers also conducted longitudinal studies of some children and found that selective eaters with anxiety problems in childhood would carry such habits into adulthood. These researchers also concluded that children who are picky eaters may have bigger problems than a lack of a well-balanced diet.

This issue is important because it brings up the fact that many children are neglecting the importance of vegetables and healthy foods. Instead, some children would rather consume candy, chips, fast food, soda, and many other junk foods that can slow their growth and replace important nutrients without acknowledging it. However, most people are selective of which foods they eat. For example, vegetarians may typically prefer to eat tofu as protein rather than meat. These styles of diet are “selective eating,” but should not have any affect towards bad mental health development.

I somewhat disagree with the researchers that picky eating can affect our mental health. It seems illogical that the idea of people choosing not to eat certain foods would correlate to their overall mental health. I would think that if the person is picky and decides to eat unhealthily, maybe his or her weight gain might cause anxiety in public settings rather than the behavior of eating resulting in poor mental health. Although researchers did say that selective eating may be a sign for mental health problems, I do not believe that pickiness and mental health directly correlate with one another.