If your child wants to eat a diet that includes healthy foods or foods that are good for them, that’s terrific. It becomes a problem when children develop an obsession with eating only “healthy” foods, and it causes them to lose too much weight and feel anxious about eating.
Several factors play a role in this obsessive behavior: Children have access to a lot of information about food that may not be true through social media and TV. Many food companies promote their foods as clean, raw and organic. This can shape children’s beliefs that some foods are “good” and others are “bad.”
Having this information doesn’t cause someone to become obsessive about food. But for some children who may be self-critical, anxious or prone to worry, these messages might make them feel like the only way to be “healthy” is to limit their diet to “healthy” foods.