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A correlational study of adult picky eating: proposing a developmental model
Lilac Lev-Ari1, Rotem Itzhak2, Rachel Bachner-Melman2,3
1Clinical Psychology Graduate Program, Ruppin Academic Center, 4025000, Emek Hefer, Israel. ldlevari@ruppin.ac.il.
Journal of Eating Disorders
|January 24, 2026
Summary
Adult picky eating is often maintained by parental accommodation, not just childhood picky eating or sensory issues. Minimizing parental accommodation may help children with picky eating develop better, even with sensory sensitivities.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Extreme picky eating (PE) in adults is prevalent and linked to significant distress.
- Understanding the factors contributing to adult picky eating is crucial for intervention.
- This study investigates the combined influence of childhood picky eating, parental accommodation, sensory issues, and emotional symptoms on adult picky eating.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the retrospective contributions of childhood picky eating, parental accommodation, sensory over-responsiveness, and current anxiety/depression to adult picky eating.
- To test the combined predictive power of these factors on adult picky eating.
Main Methods:
- A correlational study involving 352 adult volunteers (predominantly female, aged 18-71).
- Participants completed online self-report measures assessing current picky eating, retrospective childhood picky eating, parental accommodation, sensory regulation disorder, and current anxiety/depression symptoms.
- Hierarchical regression and structural equation modeling were employed to analyze the data.
Main Results:
- Adult picky eating showed positive associations with childhood picky eating, parental accommodation, sensory over-responsiveness, and current anxiety/depression.
- Parental accommodation uniquely predicted adult picky eating, even after accounting for childhood picky eating, sensory issues, and emotional symptoms.
- A developmental model indicated that childhood picky eating and sensory over-responsiveness contribute to adult picky eating directly and indirectly through parental accommodation and emotional symptoms.
Conclusions:
- While sensory hyper-responsivity may initiate childhood picky eating, parental accommodation is a key factor in its persistence into adulthood.
- Interventions counseling parents to reduce accommodation may positively impact children's development, irrespective of sensory sensitivities.
- Targeting parental accommodation offers a promising avenue for addressing persistent picky eating.
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