Picky eaters are those who display special behaviors toward new foods, textures, or flavors and refuse to eat foods prepared in certain ways. Severe cases of picky eaters involve adults who only consume one food or ingredient, or who have certain phobias related to new tastes, colors, or textures in foods.
As part of the normal development of any human being, it is common for most people to go through a picky eater phase as children, which usually disappears as they grow and acquire skills in developing different aspects of their personality. It is generally recommended that children be exposed to different flavors, ingredients, and textures—not forcing them to eat, but familiarizing them with the foods and their presence in the family diet. You cannot force a child to eat vegetables if they do not see their main caregivers doing the same with various vegetable preparations. Generally, children move past this stage without needing to be forced, but by being exposed to the foods they initially reject.
However, there are people who, even as adults, have a limited repertoire of foods they consume and are afraid to try new flavors, ingredients, or textures. They rarely venture to try new dishes and generally appreciate monotony in their diets, without surprises. Being exposed or feeling obliged to try other foods can generate anything from simple discomfort to anxiety attacks or social phobia related to exposure to certain foods.
Food neophobia, or fear of trying new foods, is a characteristic that allowed us to evolve as a species by preventing the risks involved in eating potentially deadly or poisonous things. Exhibiting food neophobia as an adult is, in some cases, considered a behavior that can have implications for well-being. If an adult’s dietary repertoire is restricted, it is most likely that they will have a nutritional deficiency, since the requirements for different nutrients are met by having a diet that combines various types of foods in a varied way.
If deficiencies are covered through supplementation, studies show that these individuals may develop certain characteristics of social phobia, due to social situations that inevitably involve food intake, such as parties, business meals, or gatherings to make or reinforce friendships. It has also been identified that in some sociocultural contexts where the level of communitarianism is high, picky eaters are not appreciated during moments of commensality.
The reasons why a child grows up to be a picky adult involve a web ranging from genetics to the upbringing that adult received. It also relates to psychological traits of personality, from willingness to take risks, to adaptability and resilience, and also the ways in which attachment (healthy or unhealthy) is developed with primary caregivers in childhood. As in many cases in the field of food, causality is not unique and is a complex web. In many cases, the adult may see their physical and emotional well-being affected by having a problematic relationship with food, which is omnipresent.
— This article was originally published in Spanish by Liliana Martínez Lomelí. Translation generated with AI from the original text.
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