Teen “goes blind” from poor diet of chips, crisps and bread

A stark reminder of the importance of healthy eating - especially the young - has come to light as a Teen “goes blind” from poor diet. The boy, who can’t be named, has only ever eaten chips, crisps and white bread - occasionally consuming ham or sausages - since leaving primary school at age 11.

First diagnosed with vitamin B12 deficiency at age 14, the teenager was taken to Bristol Eye Hospital at age 17 because of progressive sight loss.

Dr Denize Atan found that the boy had severe vitamin deficiencies and malnutrition damage, resulting in nutritional optic neuropathy.

Dr Atan said: “His diet was essentially a portion of chips from the local fish and chip shop every day. He also used to snack on crisps - Pringles - and sometimes slices of white bread and occasional slices of ham, and not really any fruit and vegetables.

“He explained this as an aversion to certain textures of food that he really could not tolerate, and so chips and crisps were really the only types of food that he wanted and felt that he could eat.

“He had lost minerals from his bone, which was really quite shocking for a boy of his age. He had blind spots right in the middle of his vision,” said Dr Atan. “That means he can’t drive and would find it really difficult to read, watch TV or discern faces.”

Though this case of nutritional optic neuropathy is uncommon, picky eating can be damaging. If you’re concerned about your or your children’s eating habits, be sure to visit your GP.

This article first appeared on BBC News.

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