Abbott India on Tuesday announced the launch of IMFeD, a study to gauge and diagnose fussy eating among children.

IMFeD (Identification and Management of Feeding Difficulties), it said, is a diagnostic tool to address poor eaters among children. This is a problem faced by 80 per cent of parents but vastly overlooked and may pose long-term nutritional and health risks in the next generation.

Abbott's Nutrition division is supporting the four-month exercise covering 15 centres and 500 children in the country, an Abbott medical official said.

According to Dr Glenn Berall, Chief of Paediatrics at Toronto's North York General Hospital, who is leading the global initiative, “Until now we have not had a systematic approach to identifying and managing children with these issues. IMFeD is a tool for doctors.”

Using a common questionnaire for parents, paediatricians will collate complaints about picky children. They will use the IMFeD method to diagnose what ails the children, its reasons and advise parents on managing the problem.

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