"Picky eating" in adults can cost them marriages and careers, according to a new registry created by Duke University and the University of Pittsburgh.
- The Food F.A.D. (Finicky Eating in Adults) Study has over 2,000 participants with a problem that can be as serious as any eating disorder recognized by medical experts.
- Many tell researchers they feel like freaks because they only eat fewer than ten, or even five kinds of foods. One man exists on French fries, potato and corn chips, Cheerios, baked potatoes and milk.
- Another eats nothing but grilled cheese sandwiches.
- These habits create social and business problems, and picky eaters say they do not have the power to change.
As one person wrote to the researchers, "Do people really think I want to show up at a business meeting and only eat the bread rolls?" Some picky eaters have turned down new jobs so they will not have to explain their habits to new people.
Most picky eaters are obese, according to psychologist Marcia Pelchat of Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. She hopes the F.A.D. Study will make it possible for picky eaters to get financial help from their insurance companies to pay for therapy and medications for this problem, once it becomes classified as a medically-recognized disorder.
Labels: picky eating
Posted By: Jane St. Clair
