Is picky eating an eating disorder?

OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of picky eating and the relationship between picky eating, previously supported correlates of picky eating, other child eating and behavioral problems and maternal eating problems in children aged 8-12 years. METHOD: In a cohort study, 426 8- to 12-year-old children and their primary caretakers (91% mothers) were assessed in a small town community. Potential child eating behaviors associated with picky eating were reported by mothers using the Stanford Feeding Questionnaire. Child eating attitudes and disturbances were obtained from the McKnight Risk Factor Survey, food preferences and avoidances from a food preference list, child behavioral problems were assessed by the Child Behavior Checklist. To assess maternal eating disturbances EDI-subscales 1-3 as well as TFEQ-subscales "disinhibition" and "restraint" were used. RESULTS: Picky and nonpicky eaters differed significantly on all of the child eating behaviors found to be correlates of picky eating in a previous study with younger children. Overall, picky children were reported to avoid foods in general more often than nonpicky eaters. Picky children did not differ from nonpicky children with regard to their own and maternal eating disturbances. However, picky children displayed more problem behaviors comprising both internalizing and externalizing behaviors. CONCLUSION: The present study does not support the concept that picky eating is associated with disordered eating but rather with a range of behavioral problems.

Interactions between disturbed eating and weight in children and their mothers.

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the interaction between disturbed eating behavior and body mass index (BMI) in children aged 8 to 12 and maternal eating problems and BMI. METHOD: In a cohort study, four hundred twenty-six 8- to 12-year-old children and their primary caretakers (91% mothers) were assessed in a small city. Disturbed eating behavior in children was measured by the "IEG-IEG-Child-Questionnaire," a validated German self-report instrument for children. Disturbed eating behavior in mothers was assessed by TFEQ-subscale disinhibition. RESULTS: Children's BMI was a significant covariate of disturbed eating. Older girls with higher BMI endorsed more problems with eating and weight, and more body dissatisfaction than boys and younger children. Daughters of overweight mothers restrained their own eating behavior more than daughters of normal weight mothers and sons regardless of mothers' weight. Older daughters of overweight mothers were more dissatisfied with their own bodies than younger daughters and children of normal weight mothers. Children of mothers with elevated disinhibition showed more body dissatisfaction than children of mothers with lower disinhibition. CONCLUSIONS: The results illustrate the complex and differential relationships between age, gender, BMI, and maternal variables and eating disturbances in children. Preventive interventions for the reduction of disturbed eating in children should be targeted at overweight mothers and mothers with disinhibited eating.

Natural killer (NK) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell functions from healthy dogs and 29 dogs with a variety of spontaneous neoplasms.

To investigate natural killer (NK) and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell functions from 10 healthy dogs and 29 dogs with a variety of spontaneous neoplasms, large granular lymphocytes (LGLs) from blood samples were separated by a 58.5% Percoll density gradient. LGLs were stimulated with a low dose of recombinant human interleukin 2 (rhIL-2) for 7 days. Cytotoxicity of effector cells against the susceptible CTAC cell line was measured before and after stimulation. Compared with those before stimulation, the percentage of LGLs after stimulation with rhIL-2 was found to be significantly increased (P<0.01) in both dogs with tumors and controls. However, the increase was significantly higher in control animals, indicating a defect in proliferation ability of NK cells in canine tumor patients. After stimulation with rhIL-2, lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell activity in dogs with tumors was significantly lower (P<0.01) when compared with controls. Reduced cytotoxicity of rhIL-2-activated NK cells in dogs with tumors seems to be attributable to the presence of a diminished proliferative capacity of NK cells and a decreased ability of LAK cells to lyse target cells. Further knowledge of the precise function of IL-2-activated NK cells in dogs with tumors may help to optimize new and therapeutically beneficial treatment strategies in canine and human cancer patients. Our findings suggest that the dog could also serve as a relevant large animal model for cancer immunotherapy with IL-2.