Michelle Roberts Health editor, BBC News online
Experts are warning about the risks of extreme restrictive eating after a teen developed permanent sight loss after living on a diet of chips and crisps.
Eye doctors in Bristol UK cared for the 17-year-old after his vision had deteriorated to the point of blindness.
Since leaving primary school, the teen had been eating only French fries, Pringles and white bread, as well as an occasional slice of ham or a sausage.
Tests revealed he had severe vitamin deficiencies and malnutrition damage.
Chips and Junk Food are BAD for Our EYES
Malnourished
Three years later, he was taken to the Bristol Eye Hospital because of progressive sight loss, Annals of Internal Medicine journal reports.
Dr Denize Atan, who treated him at the hospital, said: "His diet was essentially a portion of chips from the local fish and chip shop every day. He also used to snack on crisps - Pringles - and sometimes slices of white bread and occasional slices of ham, and not really any fruit and vegetables.
"He explained this as an aversion to certain textures of food that he really could not tolerate, and so chips and crisps were really the only types of food that he wanted and felt that he could eat."
Dr Atan and her colleagues rechecked the young man's vitamin levels and found he was low in B12 as well as some other important vitamins and minerals - copper, selenium and vitamin D.
Our EYES Must Have NUTRIENTS From GOOD Food
Shocking Findings
He was not over or underweight, but was severely malnourished from his eating disorder - avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder.
"He had lost minerals from his bone, which was really quite shocking for a boy of his age."
He was put on vitamin supplements and referred to a dietitian and a specialist mental health team.
In terms of his sight loss, he met the criteria for being registered blind.
"He had blind spots right in the middle of his vision," said Dr Atan. "That means he can't drive and would find it really difficult to read, watch TV or discern faces.
"He can walk around on his own though because he has got peripheral vision."
Nutritional optic neuropathy - the condition the young man has - is treatable if diagnosed early. Left too long, however, the nerve fibres in the optic nerve die and the damage becomes permanent.
Dr Atan said cases like this are thankfully uncommon, but that parents should be aware of the potential harm that can be caused by picky eating, and seek expert help.
For those who are concerned, she advised: "It's best not to be anxious about picky eating, and instead calmly introduce one or two new foods with every meal."
She said multivitamin tablets can supplement a diet, but are not a substitute for eating healthily.
"It's much better to take on vitamins through a varied and balanced diet," she said, adding that too much of certain vitamins, including vitamin A, can be toxic, "so you don't want to overdo it".
Dr Atan said vegans are also at increased risk of B12 deficiency-related sight problems if they do not replace what they can lack when excluding meat from their diet.
"Nutritional yeast is a way of adding B12 to your diet," she said.
Rebecca McManamon, consultant dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, said restricted diets might happen for a range of reasons, including eating disorders, allergies and autism, and need specialist assessment.
The ABC had the same type of story about a 14 Year Old with a similar Diet with Chips and White Bread.
I knew a Guy about 30 Years of Age in a Webhosting Company some years ago who had a history of 3 posh Working Positions, a Nice Wife and 3 Kids. Even though he showed certain strengths in his Work, he showed a Weakness in Parenting. We had a lot of conversations because he liked me and was a likable person. Once they did there Quota each day, they were allowed to converse with Clients.
He was very affectionate about his Kids and showed much interest in them. However, his 4 Year Old gave everyone Big Problems at the Meal Table. He was Very Picky, to the extent that he started to eat ONLY CAKES - every meal - believe it or not!
As a Researcher, I let him know how Serious that is, and because the Tantrums were So Bad, it affected his Nervous System, and he couldn't take the rejection of his little boy saying he hated him if he tried to deal with the situation. So of all the things one could say, he said to me he thinks he will let him "Outgrow" it and it could take maybe up to 2 Years. Imagine?
Well, I told him that not only his Immune System and Liver would be severely affected but that he was on the way to Clinical Malnutrition if that behavior continued Unchecked; that his Gut (Microbiome) needed Restoring and he should immediately seek Professional Help without hesitation.
I also had a few mealtimes with a Nice Family years ago who lived close by and one of their Kids was hard to handle when it came to certain meals - he only ate what he liked, left the rest on the table and left to another room to do whatever he liked. He was like that from about 8-12 years of age when I knew him. I was told by his parents in his Mid-Teens he changed and was somewhat better. Then they had another child who refused to eat what he didn't like and just sat there.
Their Parents didn't have good health and were frightened to deal with the problem like the other Parents were. Those 3 Kids had become such "Monsters" it isn't easy I know. But sometimes, if we can't handle things, we have to make Good Food more appealing, if we are not doing that. If this doesn't work, we should get appropriate help.
This Article is part of the EYES and VISION Campaign I am running HERE with Various Articles for You All to find Help with different Aspects of EyeCare and also Natural Healing for certain Eye Conditions. I have just made a few more discoveries in my Research that are about to go Live within 7-10 days.
See You Soon:)