Fast food: The sight of a teenager who only ate chips and fries

 Fast food: The sight of a teenager who only ate chips and fries

After a 17-year-old boy was spotted, medical experts have warned that snacking can be harmful to your health.

Doctors who treated the young man in Bristol, UK, said the boy was surviving on potato chips and crisps and his eyes were almost completely damaged.

The boy had only eaten French fries, Pringles, a double loaf of bread or half a sausage since he left primary school.

Most of the tests and medical analysis revealed that the boy is severely deficient in vitamins and his body is severely affected by lack of proper nutrition.

Also read this

Red pepper causes longevity

How does aging affect appetite?

Is vegetarianism good for you?

Can a vitamin pill keep the doctor away?

Food cravings

The 17-year-old's identity cannot be disclosed, but according to reports, he first came to the doctor at the age of 14 with complaints of exhaustion and body aches. At that time he was diagnosed with vitamin B12 deficiency and was told to take special dietary supplements.

However, he neither followed nor abstained from this prescription.

Dr Denise Atton, who treated him at the hospital, said: 'His daily meals had to come from the local fish and chip shop. He would also eat Pringles like crisps etc. while sometimes he would eat a piece of white bread or occasionally a piece of meat.

The boy attributed this to his distaste for the color and taste of certain foods and said that crisps and chips were the foods he 'wanted to eat'.

Dr. Atton and his colleagues repeatedly found vitamin B12 deficiency in the young man. They were also found to be deficient in other important vitamins and minerals, including copper, selenium, and vitamin D.

Disturbing results

The boy was neither underweight nor overweight for his age and height, but he was still severely malnourished.

In terms of vision, he met the criteria of being blind.

Dr Atton said: 'He has black spots right in the center of his vision. This means they cannot drive and have severe difficulty reading, watching TV, distinguishing between faces.

This young man has nutritional optic neuropathy and is treatable if diagnosed early. But if it is allowed to flourish, the optic nerve or muscle may die or become permanently disabled.

Dr. Atton says that the good thing is that such cases are rare, but he advises parents to be aware of their children's 'eating this and not eating that' habit and consult a doctor. gave

Dr Atton's advice to parents who are worried about this is to 'don't worry too much about picky foods, but introduce a couple of new things at each mealtime.'

He said that multi-vitamin pills can make up for food shortages but are not a substitute for healthy food.

He says that it is better to get various vitamins through a balanced diet. They say that too much of certain vitamins can be dangerous, including vitamin A.

Only vegetarians are also at risk of vitamin B12 deficiency, which can lead to vision complications, because they don't eat meat, Dr. Eaton says.

Add nutritional yeast to your diet to add vitamin B12, he said.

Sources of Vitamin B12 for Vegetarians:

Breakfast cereals rich in vitamin B12

Sugar-free soy drinks rich in vitamin B12

Yeast-enriched products such as Marmite with added vitamin B12.

British Dietetic Association spokeswoman and dietitian Rebecca McMenamin says that restrictive diets are used for a number of reasons, including eating disorders, allergies, self-esteem, and specific tests for this. Required.

Note that since 2016, the UK government has advised all people to take a vitamin D supplement of 10 micrograms per day between October and March, as people do not get enough vitamin D from food during this time. It can happen.

Multivitamin tablets as a supplement are recommended for all children up to five years of age.