Table 1. Effect of picky eating on intakes of nutrients, foods and food groups and comparison with recommended daily allowances: data from the UK ALSPAC study.

Authors/aim	Aim	Age of dietary assessment (years)	n	Dietary assessment tool	Nutrients	Comparison with recommended intakes	Foods and food groups
Taylor et al. (22)	Investigate macro- and micronutrient intakes in PE and non-PE	3.5 a	PE: 131 Non-PE: 364 PE assessed cross-sectionally at 3 years	3-day food record b	PE had lower intakes of protein, carotene, Fe, Zn and Se than non-PE No differences in energy intakes between groups	Energy intakes were adequate in terms of EAR Fe and Zn intakes were more likely to be below RNI in PE than non-PE Free sugar was much higher than recommended in both groups	PE consumed less meat, fish, vegetables and fruits than non-PE
Taylor et al. (22)	Investigate macro- and micronutrient intakes in PE and non-PE according to persistence and timing of onset	7.5 c	Persistent-PE: 403 Non-persistent-PE: 279 Late-onset-PE: 100 Non-PE: 1350 PE assessed longitudinally	3-day food record b	Intakes of protein, carotene, vitamin D, Fe, Zn and Se were all highest in non-PE and lowest in late-onset-PE and persistent-PE (3–16% lower). Free sugars were lowest in non-PE and highest in persistent-PE and late-onset-PE Non-persistent-PE were intermediate Energy intakes were not different	Energy intakes were adequate in terms of EAR Retinol equivalents, iron and zinc were most likely to be below RNI and LRNI for persistent-PE and late onset-PE than non-PE Free sugars were much higher than recommended in all groups	Persistent and late-onset-PE consumed less meat, vegetables and fruits than non-PE Persistent-PE consumed the most sweet biscuits and confectionery
Taylor et al.(40)	Investigate association of dietary fibre intakes and stool hardness with picky eating	3	PE: 1400 Non-PE: 4307 PE assessed cross-sectionally at 3 years	FFQ	Dietary fibre intake lower in PE than in non-PE 12.5% of variation in fibre intake explained by PE score	Dietary fibre intake in both PE and non-PE below recommended level	PE had a 6.8% lower percentage of fibre from vegetables than non-PE
Taylor and Emmett (50)	Investigate diet at 10 and 13 years in children identified as PE at age 3 years	10 and 13	PE: 804, 693 Non-PE: 2341, 1981 PE assessed cross-sectionally at 3 years	3-day food record	Lower intakes of protein, carotene, vitamin D, Se, Zn and dietary fibre; higher intakes of free sugars in PE vs non-PE at 10 years old. Difference less evident at 13 years except for higher free sugars and lower Zn intakes in PE than non-PE.	PE more likely than non-PE to be below LRNI for Zn at both 10 and 13 years Free sugars were much higher than recommended in all groups	Lower intakes of meat, fish, fruit and vegetables for PE vs non-PE at 10 years Similar difference persisted at 13 years

EAR, estimated average requirement; FFQ, food frequency questionnaire; LRNI, lower reference nutrient intake; PE, picky eater.

^aPicky eating identified by single question at 3 years old: Does your child have definite likes and dislikes as far as food is concerned? (No/Yes, quite choosy/Yes, very choosy).

^bSimilar results obtained from FFQ at 4 years

^cPicky eating identified longitudinally as ‘never’/‘low’/‘early onset’ (persistent or not persistent)/‘late onset’ at 2–5.5 years old (for details see Taylor et al. (22)).