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Teenager Went Blind After Only Eating Fries, Chips, White Bread, Sausages and Ham Since Elementary School

Bullet Club

Banned
Teenager Went Blind After Only Eating Fries, Chips, White Bread, Sausages and Ham Since Elementary School

A teenager who only ate five different foods went blind despite having no visible signs he was malnourished, according to his doctor.

The unnamed boy visited his family doctor complaining he was tired, according to a case study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. The doctor learned the boy was a "fussy eater," but he looked well. Tests revealed he was anemic and had low levels of vitamin B12.

By the age of 15, his hearing and vision started to fade. An MRI scan revealed he had no structural problems with his ears, while an eye test similarly failed to reveal any structural cause.

His vision continued to deteriorate, and by the age of 17 and doctors discovered the boy had suffered damage to his optic nerve. The teenager had 20/200 vision, meaning he was considered legally blind. Tests showed his body was deficient in nutrients including B12, as well as copper, selenium, and vitamin D: which is thought to have caused him to have weak bones. However, the boy had developed normally and had an average height, weight and BMI.

After a doctor asked him about his diet, the boy admitted he would not eat foods with certain textures. He said he had eaten this way since elementary school.

Q8XHb9A.jpg


A picture of french fries. In case you've forgotten what they look like.

Every day, he would eat a portion of fries, and snack on Pringles, white bread, slices of processed ham and sausages.

Clinicians prescribed him nutritional supplements, and referred him to a mental health service to treat him for avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder. Most individuals with this condition develop it in middle childhood, and are uninterested in food, are sensitive to textures and are worried about eating. However, their BMI will usually be normal.

The boy's eyesight stopped worsening, but didn't improve. The boy's diet is much the same, co-author of the paper Dr. Denize Atan of Bristol Eye Hospital told Newsweek.

"Nutrition does not just depend on how much you eat but what you eat and this case illustrates that fact. Here was a boy who consumed enough calories—he had normal height and weight and no visible signs of malnutrition—but he restricted his food to crisps and chips [fries] and a bit of processed pork. In other words, energy-dense foods of little nutritional value. The case illustrates the fact that calorie intake and BMI are not reliable indicators of nutritional status," Atan explained

"He now takes multivitamin supplements but I cannot say that his eating behavior has changed much—despite seeing gastroenterologists, dieticians, the child mental health team and eating disorder specialists," she said.

Some 2 billion people worldwide are affected by micronutrient deficiencies, according to Atan. But there is little awareness among health professionals and the public of the damage this can do to visual health, she said.

Aisling Pigott, a qualified dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association who was not involved in the case, told Newsweek: "This is an extreme example of modern-day malnutrition that is not necessarily energy deficiency but a deficiency in minerals and fiber.

"Vitamin deficiencies can affect the nerves feeding the eyes," she explained. "Many ultra-processed foods are high in energy but low in nutrients, and we need to be aware of this."

She added: "Readers should not be alarmed, but remain aware that chronic poor diet and lack of fruit, vegetables and balanced meals have many consequences—it's not all about weight and cardiovascular risk."

Source: Newsweek
 

Kadayi

Banned
A girl I worked with was a fussy eater when she was a young kid (can't remember her exact requirements, but it was equally demented as the OPs) and she was severely dyslexic. I'd always thought that her early diet was probably a factor in that. Gotta vary it up ppl.
 
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A girl I worked with was a fuzzy eater when she was a young kid (can't remember her exact requirements, but it was equally demented as the OPs) and she was severely dyslexic. I'd always thought that her early diet was probably a factor in that. Gotta vary it up ppl.
Fuzzy eater???
 

Dontero

Banned
Looks like vitamin deficiency.
Also study based on one person and mostly with that person opinions about his actions is not a study but junk science.

I seriously doubt this was the only food he ate.
 

Tesseract

Banned
looking at chart from work

basically he stayed inside all day, got no exercise, didn't eat enough greens or red meats, no whole grains, probably not nearly enough water
hard to know more without a picture of this kid smiling (need to see teeth and eyes --> protip my dear cum chumps, the eyes and teeth never lie

selenium and copper make me think something else is going on

girls you can usually tell by the body

*edit* b12 is a huge immunological flag, i think whatever he drank might have assisted (check his sugar history)

too much of that diet and your blood turns to battery acid
 
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Thurible

Member
When I was a little boy and I became fussy with my food, my father sat me down and waited with me until I ate. It was a little extreme, but it got the job done. He also told me it is polite to eat what you are given, even if you don't like it. Also, there are people in the world who don't have the luxuries we do who would be more than happy to have a good meal.

One time I didn't like the taste of meatloaf (I do now), so my Dad taught me I could make it into a sandwich which made it a bit more enjoyable to me. Being creative with something you don't like can go a long way.

It is important to maintain a well balanced diet and not just eat the same foods everyday. Being picky shouldn't be an excuse here. He should have learned either through his parents or by himself that his diet is absolutely unacceptable.
 
armchair psychologist inside me thinks that the parents didn't want to deal with him and his pickiness so they just eventually realized they didn't have to and this is the price they paid for their negligence.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
basically he stayed inside all day
Kid was probably a loner. Or maybe even handicapped in some way, but the article didn't say so.

Ya, to get vitamin D, the best way (and free) is just go outside.

 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
not like this is surprising, the kid is a moron as well as his parents...
Well the kid obviously has mental health issues, the parents aren't morons but they may have been negligent in getting him treatment. Considering the lack of impact a whole host of therapists and nutritionists seem to have had so far though, plus the extra push of, you know, going blind, it seems this kid has some serious issues.
 

*Nightwing

Banned
All lies! Fake News! So called journalists trying to pass this off as a nutritional issue when we all know the real culprit is excessive masturbation. He finally jerked himself blind and has the hairy palms to prove it, I'm sure of it. But seriously, WTF? Kids gonna be dead in 10 years if he keeps this up and thats a generous estimate seeing he's made it this long with such a diet lacking in nutrients.
 
I eat unhealthy amounts of potato chips since I believe I an addiction.. But nonetheless I do eat a good amount of veggies too. I gotta learn to reduce my potato chip intake soon or im fucked when I'm much older.
 

Ikutachi

Member
Well the kid obviously has mental health issues, the parents aren't morons but they may have been negligent in getting him treatment. Considering the lack of impact a whole host of therapists and nutritionists seem to have had so far though, plus the extra push of, you know, going blind, it seems this kid has some serious issues.
Yes, his parents are morons.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
You know what's amazing?

The guy ate greasy junky food for probably 10 years, and finally his body broke down (blindness). Yet the rest of him is still pretty healthy?

Give props to the human body..... and maybe there's more nutrition in chips and sausage than we think?..... it lasted a while before being defeated.
 

jts

...hate me...
You know what's amazing?

The guy ate greasy junky food for probably 10 years, and finally his body broke down (blindness). Yet the rest of him is still pretty healthy?

Give props to the human body..... and maybe there's more nutrition in chips and sausage than we think?..... it lasted a while before being defeated.
Should have sprinkled some vitamins on the fries.
 

lil puff

Member
Should have sprinkled some vitamins on the fries.
Well there are ways to trick children into eating something, just a little something healthy once in awhile. I don't know the full story with these parents, but I know quite a few adults that do not ever touch vegetables at all, eat mostly fast foods, processed food or high starch/fat foods - and imo comes down to lack of nutritional educational resources early on and passed down.

However there could be more involved with this kid than I'm aware of. Makes me feel bad for him either way. It's rare that a child will just start eating healthy on their own.
 
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