挑食实际上可能是一种严重的疾病

挑食实际上可能是一种严重的疾病

Shocking cases of extreme picky eating have been creating a stir online recently. Earlier this week, 20-year-old Austin Davis, from Florida, turned heads when he revealed he’d eaten nothing but mac and cheese for 17 years. He has company in Jade Youngman, a 25-year-old Brit who recently went viral for her restrictive diet of dairy, simple carbs and processed meats. Then, there’s the anonymous 17-year-old subject of a study publishedin September’s Annals of Internal Medicine: His nutritional deficits caused him to go legally blind after refusing to eat anything except french fries, white bread, potato chips and processed ham.

近日，一些极端挑食的令人震惊的案例在网上引起了轰动。本周早些时候，来自佛罗里达州的20岁的奥斯汀·戴维斯(Austin Davis)透露，他17年来除了通心粉和奶酪外什么都没吃，这引起了人们的注意。他的同伴是25岁的英国人玉青年(Jade Youngman)，她最近因严格控制奶制品、简单碳水化合物和加工肉类的饮食而走红。然后，在9月份的《内科学年鉴》(Annals of Internal Medicine)上发表了一项17岁的匿名研究:他的营养不足导致他在法律上失明，除了炸薯条、白面包、薯片和加工火腿外，他拒绝吃任何东西。

Now, “many kids are picky eaters,” Dr. Natalie Muth, pediatrician and author of “The Picky Eater Project,” tells The Post. Neophobia, or fear of new foods, is “classic” in toddlers; kids tend to grow out of it after trying a food 15 to 20 times, or when they go to school and see their classmates eating a variety of foods. Extreme cases, like the ones making headlines right now, are relatively rare.

现在，“很多孩子都挑食，”儿科医生和《挑食计划》的作者娜塔莉·穆特博士告诉《华盛顿邮报》。新食物恐惧症，或对新食物的恐惧，在幼儿中是“典型的”;孩子们在尝试一种食物15到20次之后，或者当他们去学校看到他们的同学在吃各种各样的食物时，就会逐渐不再吃了。极端的例子，比如现在成为头条新闻的例子，相对来说比较少见。

But such episodes are also nightmare fuel for moms and dads of finicky eaters — not all of whom grow out of it by preschool. And while junior’s broccoli refusal may indeed be temporary, it can feel like the Hot Dogs Only phase will last a lifetime when you’re in the middle of it.

但对于挑食的父母们来说，这样的小插曲也是噩梦的燃料——并不是所有的父母都能在学龄前就戒掉的。虽然青少年拒绝吃西兰花可能只是暂时的，但当你处于其中的时候，你会感觉到只有热狗才有的阶段会持续一生。

So how can you tell if your kid is an average veggie-phobe or if they’re suffering from a more serious block with food?

那么，你如何判断你的孩子是一个普通的素食主义者，还是他们正遭受着更严重的饮食障碍呢?

First, Muth says, make sure you’re doing your job as a parent. Too many moms and dads are afraid to let their kids go to bed hungry. Doing so is not only OK, but “recommended,” says Muth, who adds that picky eating only becomes worse when parents give into a child’s demands.

首先，穆思表示，确保你完成了父母的工作。大多父母不会让孩子饿着肚子睡觉。事实上，饿着肚子睡觉不仅是可以的，而且是“推荐的”，穆思补充说，当父母总是满足孩子的要求时，挑食会变得更糟。

Then, look for the developmental markers. Around age 3, most kids naturally become more open to eating other things, but if that doesn’t happen, parents should ask their pediatrician if it might be a more serious problem.

然后，寻找发育标记。在3岁左右，大多数孩子自然而然地变得更愿意吃其他东西，但如果没有发生这种情况，父母应该问儿科医生，这是否是一个更严重的问题。

The biggest sign that it is? When a child stops growing or isn’t meeting his or her weight and height requirements, says Dr. Evelyn Attia, director of the Columbia Center for Eating Disorders at Columbia University Medical Center.

最明显的标志是什么?哥伦比亚大学医学中心哥伦比亚饮食失调中心主任伊夫林·阿提亚博士说，当孩子停止生长或不能满足体重和身高要求时。