By Bae Ji-sook
Staff reporter

Children with fussy eating habits might be showing signs of a form of eating disorder.

Researchers of Duke University and the University of Pittsburgh are considering classifying "selective eating" as a disorder that could apply to adults and children. It is the first step to see whether particular eating habits, conventionally noted as quirks or personal taste is something that goes deeper to reflect individual personality. Moreover, they will study its correlations with anorexia and bulimia.

The research results and decisions will be included in the 2013 edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

For the fundamental research, the scholars are conducting online surveys. They are hoping this will help them draw guidelines for dealing with extremely finicky eating habits.

The Daily Mail said that many fussy eaters have a hard time socializing because of their eating habits― they refrain from eating out or buy ready-made foods. But at the same time, the habit is uncorrectable, causing speculation that it is more than just palate preferences.

The newspaper quoted Frances Burrows of the British eating disorder charity Beat as saying, "We get a lot of parents ringing up asking if there is something wrong with their child if they are only eating certain foods, and if you are in any doubt, it is best to seek advice."

In Korea, Professor Jeong Kyeong-mi of Yonsei University last year found that one in every three children here are selective eaters and 40 percent of parents of such children stress about it.

After studying 379 children in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province and 417 parents, about 40 percent showed extraordinary patterns in eating and about 80 percent of them were picky about the food they ate.

Parents used to scold, persuade or forced children to eat more regularly, but admitted that they needed professional help to look deeper into their child's problems at a psychological level.