Pediatric Infectious Diseases: Open Access

Abstract

Picky eating behavior is a common phenomenon during childhood. Pickiness in eating may interfere with the child’s food intake and thus physical growth, it is essential to identify the factors leading towards the picky eating behavior. This study was planned to investigate the prevalence of picky eating among the preschool children, its possible association with early feeding practices, including type of feeding used during infancy, introduction of solid food and weaning age as well as other social or behavioral factors. Picky eaters were identified among children, ages of 2-6 years (n=385) through filling a validated questionnaire by the mothers volunteerily. The participant kids’ weight and height were taken and evaluated through UK-WHO growth charts. Data was collected by trained dietitians in the pediatric nutrition clinics in 5 major governmental hospitals in Kuwait. Our results indicated about 37% prevalence of picky eating among preschool children in Kuwait.