![]() While not a comprehensive list, people with pica may experience cravings for:Ī few common oral compulsive habits, including chronic nail biting, or onychophagia, are generally not connected to pica, even if they may be a cause for concern. A few pica groups have been identified with terminology, such as “geophagia” – associated with eating dirt, clay, stones, etc., or “amylophagia” – associated with eating raw starches and starchlike substances, from plain flour to raw potatoes to laundry starch. The phrase “eating non-food items” may seem slightly abstract, but the fact is that pica sufferers have been observed eating a great range of types of objects. Studies have found that 10 and 15% of people with these conditions show signs of pica. ![]() Pica also is a condition that frequently affects individuals who live with developmental and intellectual disabilities, such as ADHD and autism spectrum disorder. While individual cases are unique and can differ significantly, evidence points to some people experiencing pica as a cluster of symptoms related to the OCD spectrum rather than body dysmorphia. In adolescents and teens, pica often presents in connection with certain other mental health conditions, including different patterns of disordered eating, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. ![]() Pica often manifests as hard-to-control or uncontrollable cravings to consume a particular type(s) of non-food items, brought on by the scent, sight, or texture of said objects. It may not be considered pica if an individual consumes items with no nutritional value for cultural, spiritual, or medicinal reasons – think Hollywood trends in additive clays and charcoals. In the APA’s Fifth Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, it is classified as a “feeding and eating disorder.”Ĭulturally and regionally, definitions of what is and is not food fluctuate. Pica is a term that describes a pattern of disordered eating characterised by a compulsive drive towards ingesting non-food items without known significant nutritional value. This can have serious health consequences when it goes unchecked, but the good news is that pica is a disease that responds well and sustainably to evidence-based treatment. Named for the Latin word magpie – a bird with a truly unfinicky appetite, pica is a dangerous eating disorder involving mild to severe compulsions to eat things that are not considered food. Additional Mental Health Disorders Menu Toggle.
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