It is an eating disorder of recent clinical description that refers to the rejection of food for reasons such as smell, texture or taste, among others.
It is common for children between three and four years old to start rejecting foods that they previously loved and this is a cause of concern for their parents. This is common because children grow up and begin to know how to differentiate better between what they like and what they don't, and they also feel rejection for what they don't know (for example, many reject vegetables because of the green color since it activates a " brain alarm" that makes them feel disgust or rejection). The most serious cases of food refusal may be due to a condition of food neophobia, an eating disorder that we delve into below.
What is neophobia?
Introduced a couple of years ago in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders edited by the American Psychiatric Association), food neophobia is defined, broadly speaking, as the selective rejection of new or unfamiliar foods . for reasons such as its appearance, taste, smell, texture or presentation. It may also be due to some previous trauma related to the food in question.
It is not the same as being picky or eating regularly, we are talking about serious cases that also tend to last over time. In fact, this condition is common from 2 to 6 years old, and mainly affects fruits and vegetables.
It is interesting to know that this does not happen frequently with sweet foods since the human body predisposes us from birth to prefer sweet flavors while it does just the opposite with bitter, acidic and sour flavors. Furthermore, also innately, human beings reject what they do not know, which happens with foods that we have not tried before. This brain mechanism has a protective function since everything that could be harmful to the body is rejected.
For this reason, experts, both in nutrition and psychology - neophobia can also affect adults but does not have such a significant impact - recommend introducing all healthy and nutritious foods into children's diets as soon as possible . Knowing them before they are two years old will greatly limit the possibility of food neophobia appearing in them because learning about flavors is achieved through repeated exposure to them.
Tips to avoid it
Not only should we present it to the little ones repeatedly, but we should do it in a positive way. That is, in different preparations and varied presentations , with a lot of patience and positive communication, in small quantities on large plates until they manage to assimilate and tolerate with pleasure each food that causes them rejection - it is better that they repeat that it stays on the plate. , and above all, without forcing them to eat them. Forcing to eat does not work with any child who is a bad eater, and in the case of neophobic boys and girls it is very counterproductive because the only thing that is achieved by forcing is that they become more so.
In the same way as in other aspects of children's learning, it is not advisable to use blackmail or bribery or rewards to get them to eat, no matter how much it is useful at that moment. It is also important to avoid distractions during meals - no TV, cell phones and video games, for example - and also limit giving them food between meals as much as possible.
We must avoid turning meals into an ordeal for children. If after about 30 minutes the child does not want to eat, we should not force him or scold him, much less leave that food for the next meal. If we do this, the problem will get worse and when the time comes to eat, the boy or girl will just want to avoid it.
Finally, as far as possible, it is highly recommended to eat as a family , all together, because the boy or girl will have very good examples in front of them, assuming that the other members of the family group give them an example with your diet.
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