The Selective Eater Syndrome
Selective eater syndrome is a mental health disorder. A person suffers from it when there is no variety of foods in their regular diet and there is a rejection of incorporating new elements.
In order to be diagnosed as syndrome, the person must have eaten less than ten different foods in total, in their entire diet, for at least two years.
If these criteria are met, then we will be facing the pathology classified as such. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders includes it as a disease with its English name: Avoidant / Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFIV).
Let’s go deeper.
Selective eating syndrome and its relationship with other disorders
Selective Eater Syndrome can be the gateway to other eating disorders such as:
- Anorexia : weight loss caused by the patient, even with low body weight. It is generated by an inordinate fear of weight gain.
- Bulimia : it is the succession of impulsive behaviors called binge-eating , consisting of large ingestions of food in a short time and then expelled through unnatural mechanisms such as provoked vomiting.
- Orthorexia : it is the obsession to consume only foods considered healthy by the patient, at an irrational level, worrying all the time about the menu.
- Vigorexia : it is the pathological obsession to maintain a muscular body. To achieve this, people who suffer from it exercise excessively and alter their diet to extremes.
Who is affected by selective eater syndrome
Although the disorder can appear at any stage of life and affect any human being, it has more susceptible populations.
The two groups most affected are children and athletes. Let’s take a closer look at each one.
Children and selective eater syndrome
Parents know that incorporating food is difficult with children. In the little ones, a situation called food neophobia appears, the fear of trying new items on their menu.
According to this study by the University of the Basque Country (Spain) , this usually develops between two and six years and it is something normal: it is part of the growth and development process. Adults should understand that this is to be expected at preschool age.
However, when it becomes extreme, we can speak of selective eater syndrome in a child. The prevalence of the syndrome is estimated to be around 15% among children under six years of age, and it tends to be more common in women than in men. Approximately, for every boy who suffers from it, there are four girls with the syndrome.
The long-term problem is that it can be perpetuated into adulthood. Many times parents become persistent with the incorporation of food in a counterproductive way and children enter a circle of anxiety that further stimulates the pathology.
The presence of selective eating syndrome in childhood has been associated with certain personality characteristics that persist into adulthood:
- Social fear
- Little adaptation to change
- Obsessive-compulsive disorders
- Anxiety
Selective eater syndrome in athletes
When those who play sports professionalize or do it more and more frequently, they run the risk of becoming obsessed. This obsession can be evident in the preparation of the diet, especially if the athlete only wants to increase their muscle volume or maximize performance at any cost.
Menus based solely on proteins are common among these individuals, or also the so-called chicken and tuna diet in the three daily meals with alternating pasta.
The little variety forces the body to work metabolically in atypical ways. This is detrimental in the long term, being able to generate pathologies of the metabolic order that will become evident over the years.
The consequences
Lack of nutrients is serious for the human body. Macronutrients and micronutrients are vital for cells and tissues in the body to work, develop, grow and repair themselves.
Minimal deficiencies can affect the healing process, as explained in this study by nurse Carmen Carrera, from the Virgen del Rocío University Hospital in Seville (Spain) . In growing children there will not necessarily be low weight, but there may be short stature associated with the deficit.
For its part, and as stated in this research by the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery of Havana (Cuba), the nervous system of children is particularly sensitive to the syndrome.
There can be a substantial difference in IQ between children who have the syndrome and those who do not. Of course, school performance will suffer.
The social interference that the disorder has is not less. People with selective eater syndrome avoid attending social events where there is food (birthdays, for example).
They know they will be exposed in those situations. For this reason, each time they withdraw more and remain lonely for longer, hindering the possibilities of external help.
It is essential to ask for psychological help
When the syndrome is installed, the good intention of loved ones is not enough to reverse the diet. They may fail if there is no proper advice.
It is a mental health problem, and as such requires professionals in that area. On many occasions it is a combination of disorders, so consultation with psychologists or psychiatrists is essential to characterize the condition.
