The idea that a food is “yucky” isn’t always a simple rejection. It’s often rooted in sensitivity to taste buds. Children have a higher number of taste buds than adults, making them more sensitive to flavors. This is particularly true for bitter tastes, which are common in many vegetables. This sensitivity, combined with an evolutionary aversion to new foods, makes many healthy foods genuinely unpleasant for some children.
Picky eating refers to the tendency to refuse unfamiliar foods, eat only a limited range of accepted foods, or express strong likes and dislikes at mealtime. There is no single accepted definition, but it typically involves food selectivity and reluctance to try new foods.
Imagine a typical evening dinner scene in a family home. A plate is placed in front of a four-year-old boy. On the plate is a vibrant mix of chicken, peas, and a few small, diced carrots. The boy immediately pushes the peas and carrots to the side, creating a small, green, and orange hill on the edge of his plate. His mother, frustrated, says, “You have to eat your vegetables.” He responds with a firm shake of his head and says, “No, they’re yucky.” He then proceeds to eat only the chicken, meticulously picking up each piece to ensure no stray pea or carrot has contaminated it.
This scenario highlights the classic struggle of picky eating. It demonstrates:
- Food Neophobia: The child’s immediate rejection of the unfamiliar or disliked foods (peas and carrots) without even tasting them.
- Sensory Aversion: His comment that they are “yucky” likely refers to a texture, taste, or smell he finds aversive, not a conscious choice to be difficult.
- A Power Struggle: The exchange between the child and his mother shows how mealtimes can become a battleground, where a child’s refusal to eat is one of the few areas they have complete control.
Many children outgrow their picky eating habits, but the dietary patterns and preferences established in early life can persist into adulthood. The research used data from the Project EAT (Eating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults) study, in which participants retrospectively reported their childhood eating habits.
The Hidden Links of Picky Eating: Not Just a Childhood Phase
When we think of picky eaters, we often picture a child refusing to eat their vegetables. But what happens when that pickiness follows you into adulthood? A new study published in PeerJ sheds light on the complex factors behind adult picky eating, revealing it’s not just a stubborn habit but a behavior rooted in a mix of childhood experiences and psychological traits.
Adult picky eating isn’t just a simple habit; it has significant psychological roots and often connects to sensory sensitivities, a high propensity for disgust, and, in some cases, obsessive-compulsive symptoms. It’s often a continuation of patterns formed in childhood, influenced by early experiences with food and parental feeding practices.
Aversive Sensory Responsiveness
For a picky eater, a food’s texture, smell, or even sound can be overwhelming and unpleasant. This is known as aversive sensory responsiveness. It’s a heightened sensitivity to certain sensory inputs that most people don’t notice.
- Example: A person with this sensitivity might gag or feel nauseated by the slimy texture of a mushroom or the gritty feel of a pear. They might only eat foods with a consistent texture, like crackers or toast, to avoid an unexpected sensory experience. This can lead to a highly restricted diet, as they may eliminate entire food groups based on a single, aversive characteristic.
Disgust and Food Avoidance
Disgust is a powerful emotion that evolved to protect us from pathogens and toxins. In picky eaters, this emotion can be triggered easily by food that is not contaminated or spoiled. The disgust isn’t just about bad taste; it’s often a reaction to a food’s appearance, smell, or texture. Studies show that picky eaters are more likely to have a higher level of disgust sensitivity and may even avoid foods with benign changes, viewing them as if they are spoiled.
- Example: A person with a high sensitivity to disgust might refuse to eat a piece of fruit with a small brown spot, even though it’s perfectly safe. The spot triggers a feeling of contamination or “wrongness,” making the food inedible to them. This can also manifest as a strong aversion to certain food combinations, like a stew where different ingredients are mixed together, creating a visual and textural chaos that triggers a disgust response.
Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms
For some individuals, picky eating may be part of a larger pattern of ritualistic or anxious behavior. These are not necessarily full-blown Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), but they can involve similar symptoms, such as the need for order, predictability, and control.
- Example: An individual might have a ritualistic routine for eating their food. They may need to eat one type of food on their plate before moving to the next, or they may insist that their foods never touch. If this ritual is broken—for example, a piece of chicken accidentally touches a vegetable—it can cause significant anxiety and distress, leading them to refuse the entire meal. This need for control and rigidity around food is a common trait among adult picky eaters and is a key part of the link to obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
A need for strategies that not only encourage children to try new foods but also help them develop a broad and healthy food repertoire that can support their health throughout their lives.Treatments for picky eating often focus on behavioral strategies, gradual exposure, and addressing underlying psychological issues. A key goal is to reduce anxiety around food and expand the variety of foods an individual is willing to eat.
REFERENCES:
Pesch MH, Bauer KW, Christoph MJ, Larson N, Neumark-Sztainer D. Young adult nutrition and weight correlates of picky eating during childhood. Public Health Nutr. 2020 Apr;23(6):987-995. doi: 10.1017/S136898001900346X. Epub 2019 Dec 6. PMID: 31806063; PMCID: PMC7489291.
Zohar AH, Barhum Shapira D, Lev-Ari L, Bachner-Melman R. Adult picky eating and associations with childhood picky eating, maternal feeding, aversive sensory responsiveness, disgust and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. PeerJ. 2025 May 16;13:e19444. doi: 10.7717/peerj.19444. PMID: 40391031; PMCID: PMC12087578.
Written by – VARSHINI S