![]() Consuming non-food items helps the person feel full. Dieting and malnourishment can lead to pica. Some people enjoy the textures or flavors of such nonfood items as clay, and it is acceptable behavior in some cultures. Mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia or obsessive-compulsive disorder, may lead to pica as a way for the person to cope with the mental health condition. In fact, in pregnant women, anemia (low iron) is often the cause of pica, because the body develops unusual cravings in response to low nutrient levels. However, an iron, zinc, or calcium deficiency may be associated with pica in some cases. Other substances that are ingested include cigarette butts, ashes, feces, and starch. Adults, on the other hand, tend towards paper, glue, ice, and soap. The pica cravings are less common in pregnant women.Ĭhildren are attracted to such items as soil, paint, pencils, clay, hair, and insects. When pica develops in adults, there is usually a co-existing intellectual disability or other mental disorder involved.Īccording to Everyday Health and the National Institutes of Health, as many as 32% of children between the ages of one and six display this behavior. Infants and babies learn about the world by putting nonfood items in their mouths, but they normally outgrow the habit by two to three years of age. Pica is a rare eating disorder that may develop at any stage of life, but it tends to occur in young children, adolescents, and pregnant women. The word pica is Latin for magpie, a bird known for its willingness to eat just about anything, according to Psychology Today. A person who has experienced such food cravings may have been diagnosed with pica. However, imagine the need to eat soil, cigarette butts, and paint. One involves starvation and the other involves binge eating and purging. Most of us are aware of such eating disorders as anorexia and bulimia.
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