Experts are warning about the dangers of “fussy eating” after a 17 year old was declared legally blind after living on a diet of chips and crisps.
Eye doctors in Bristol cared for the young man 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.
The youth had seen his GP at the age of 14 because he had been feeling fatigued and generally unwell. At that time he was diagnosed with vitamin B12 deficiency and put on supplements, but he did not stick with the treatment or improve his poor diet.
Annals of Internal Medicine journal reports that three years later, he was taken to the Bristol Eye Hospital because of progressive sight loss.
The boy cannot be named for privacy reasons.
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 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.”
He was neither over or underweight, but was severely malnourished. But in terms of his sight loss, he met the criteria for being registered as legally blind.
“He had lost minerals from his bone, which was really quite shocking for a boy of his age. 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.”
Health officials and doctors have cam forward and said that as eating healthily also includes making sure you are taking in enough vitamins and minerals, as these contribute to normal physical and cognitive function.
“It’s also worth noting that since 2016 the UK government has recommended daily Vitamin D supplementation (10 microgrammes/400 International Units) for everyone between October and March as we are not likely to get enough from fortified foods.
“Multivitamin supplementation is recommended for all children up to their fifth birthday.”
