Beyond “It’s Just a Phase”: A Review of Picky Eating in Children

Abstract

Picky eating is one of the most frequent feeding problems in childhood and is often dismissed as a normal developmental phase. Despite a steadily expanding body of research, uncertainty persists regarding its clinical relevance, assessment, and management. This review synthesizes recent evidence on picky eating in children, with a specific focus on definitions, epidemiology, developmental trajectories, underlying mechanisms, clinical impact, and interventions. Reliance on broad definitions and prevalence estimates has obscured clinically meaningful distinctions between transient, developmentally typical food selectivity and persistent patterns associated with nutritional risk, functional impairment, and family stress. Drawing on contemporary data, we propose a continuum-based, phenotype-oriented framework that emphasizes persistence, severity, and functional impact rather than food refusal alone. Advances in understanding picky eating have not consistently translated into improved clinical care, highlighting persistent gaps in implementation, access, and dissemination of evidence-based feeding guidance. Finally, we outline priorities for future research and practice aimed at improving outcomes for children with clinically relevant picky eating.