THE PERSISTENT DISLIKE FOR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

The fifth and latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)  had renamed "Feeding Disorder of Infancy or Early Childhood" to "Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder" (also known as Selective Eating Disorder (SED)). Not only has it broadened its diagnostic criteria, it is also a reflection of the realization that the eating disorder that prevents the consumption of certain foods is not merely a phase of childhood that can be outgrown with age, but can persist throughout the adult lives of people so afflicted.

Perhaps, the most infuriating and puzzling symptom of this disorder for parents of afflicted young children and even adult offsprings is their dislike and persistent refusal of fruits and vegetables. While the World Health Organization recommends that everyone eats five portions of fruits and vegetables a day, these victims may take zero portion for months, years or even whole lifetimes!

Such a chronic lack of fruits and vegetables will have dire health consequences.

WHY THE DISLIKE?

There are a few reasons for the persistence into adulthood such child-like aversion towards fruits and vegetables:

1. Complacency.

Victims feel that they are young and invincible and are indifferent to future health problems. They assess their health by how they presently feel, not by evaluating their diet and lifestyles in the light of widely known medical evidence.

2. Victims place a higher priority on their work and social activities over  their health.

When they feel that they can hardly cope with their busy lifestyles, they eat for comfort or to merely suppress their hunger. So, they skip breakfast and eat whatever is quickest to buy and most convenient to eat. Soon, foods devoid of fruits and vegetables like instant noodles, cracker snacks, delivered fast foods and pizzas become their staple food.

3. Laziness.

Some victims spend most of their time cooped up in their rooms stuck with their computers and electronic devices, lying in their sofas or beds. To them, going to the kitchen, opening the fridge door, washing and cutting or peeling some fruits to eat seem so much of a chore. It would seem much easier to reach for the chips and chocolates on their table.

4. Never eating home meals.

Perhaps, by force of habit or as a form of rebellion, some victims eat out every meal of the day, every day of the year. Even when they are home early, they may call for delivered fast foods to be eaten in their rooms, spurning the home-cooked vegetable dishes eaten by the rest of the family.

5. An acquired taste for sugar and salt.

Victims base their food decisions on taste and appearance, not on their nutrient or health benefits. Due to the commercialization of food, widespread advertising has caused victims to associate sweet and salty foods with their modern lifestyles and reject as more disagreeable the blander and potentially more sour and bitter fruits and vegetables.

6. Ignorance.

Despite the many campaigns, advertisements, books, magazines and TV programs that inform about the benefits of fruits and vegetables, many victims choose to ignore such advice either because they lack education and do not understand the science behind them or they are bored by their repetition.

SO WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES?

It is widely known that fruits and vegetables provide numerous nutrients that help to lower the risks of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Therefore, a deficiency of fruits and vegetables may increase the risks of these serious diseases.

If we refer to the largest prospective cohort study of 500,000 participants in Europe on the relationship between diet and chronic diseases called the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Study (1993 to date), we can deduce the following key findings regarding the intake of fruits and vegetables:

1. The high potassium from fruits and vegetables prevents high blood pressure.

2. High dietary fibre (including from fruits and vegetables) protects against bowel cancer.

3. Obesity (which may be caused by a high-calorie, high carbohydrate diet in contrast to a diet rich in fruits and vegetables) increases the risk of developing a number of cancers.

4. Increased fat intake (in contrast to a high fruit and vegetable diet) increases the risk of breast cancer.

5. Dietary flavonoid (found ubiquitously in vegetables and fruits) is associated with reduced gastric carcinoma risk in women.

6. Reducing the consumption of processed meat (perhaps by correspondingly increasing fruit and vegetable consumption) can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and death from cancer.

7. An increase in fruit and vegetable intake reduces the risk from all causes of an early death.

8. The consumption of at least five daily servings of fruits and vegetables (together with not smoking, being physically active and moderated alcohol intake) was estimated to lengthen life by 14 years.

But, I guess with the increasing petulance of the younger generation and the undying indulgence of their parents, this will continue to fall on deaf ears.