Teenager 'blind' from living off crisps and chips

青少年因吃薯片和薯条而"失明"

By Michelle Roberts

Health editor

米歇尔·罗伯茨

健康编辑

Experts are warning about the dangers of "fussy eating" after a 17-year-old suffered irreparable sight loss after living on a diet of chips and crisps.

日前，英国一名17岁的少年因只吃薯条和薯片而失明，视力无法恢复。

Eye doctors in Bristol cared for the young man after his vision had deteriorated to the point of blindness.

布里斯托尔的眼科医生在这名年轻人视力恶化到失明的程度后对他进行了护理。

Since leaving primary school, the teen had been eating only French fries, Pringles and white bread, as well as an occasional slice of ham or a sausage.

从小学毕业以来，这个孩子只吃薯条、品客薯片和白面包，偶尔还吃一片火腿或香肠。

Tests revealed he had severe vitamin deficiencies and malnutrition damage.

检查显示他有严重的维生素缺乏和营养不良的损害。

Extreme picky eater

极端挑剔的食客

The adolescent, who cannot be named, had seen his GP at the age of 14 because he had been feeling tired and unwell. At that time he was diagnosed with vitamin B12 deficiency and put on supplements, but he did not stick with the treatment or improve his poor diet.

这名不愿透露姓名的青少年14岁时就去看了医生，因为他一直感到疲倦和不适。当时，他被诊断出缺乏维生素B12，并补充了维生素B12，但他没有坚持治疗，也没有改善他的不良饮食。

Three years later, he was taken to the Bristol Eye Hospital because of progressive sight loss, Annals of Internal Medicine journal reports.

据《内科医学年鉴》杂志报道，三年后，他因为逐渐失明被送往布里斯托尔眼科医院。

Dr Denize Atan, who treated him at the hospital, 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.

在医院为他治疗的Denize Atan医生说:"他的饮食基本上就是每天从当地炸鱼薯条店买一些薯条。他还经常吃薯片——品客薯片——有时吃几片白面包，偶尔吃几片火腿，不吃任何水果和蔬菜。

"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."

"他解释说，这是因为他讨厌某些他实在无法忍受的食物质地，所以薯条和薯片是他唯一想吃的食物，他觉得自己可以吃。"

Dr Atan and her colleagues rechecked the young man's vitamin levels and found he was low in B12 as well as some other important vitamins and minerals - copper, selenium and vitamin D.

Atan医生和她的同事重新检查了这名年轻人的维生素水平，发现他体内的B12以及其他一些重要的维生素和矿物质——铜、硒和维生素D含量都很低。

Shocking findings

震惊的发现

He was not over or underweight, but was severely malnourished.

他没有超重或体重不足，但严重营养不良。

"He had lost minerals from his bone, which was really quite shocking for a boy of his age."

他没有超重或体重不足，但严重营养不良。"他的骨头里矿物质流失了，这对他这个年龄的男孩来说真的很震惊。"

In terms of his sight loss, he met the criteria for being registered blind.

在视力方面，他符合盲人登记的标准。

"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.

"他的视力正中间有盲点，"Atan医生说。"这意味着他不会开车，而且会发现阅读、看电视或辨认人脸真的很困难。

"He can walk around on his own though because he has got peripheral vision."

"但他可以自己四处走动，因为他有周边视觉。"

Nutritional optic neuropathy - the condition the young man has - is treatable if diagnosed early. Left too long, however, the nerve fibres in the optic nerve die and the damage becomes permanent.

营养视神经病变——这名年轻人的病症——如果及早诊断，是可以治疗的。然而，如果放置太久，视神经中的神经纤维就会死亡，损伤就会变成永久性的。

Dr Atan said cases like this are thankfully uncommon, but that parents should be aware of the potential harm that can be caused by picky eating, and seek expert help.

Atan医生说，幸运的是，这种情况并不常见，但家长们应该意识到挑食可能带来的潜在危害，并寻求专家的帮助。

· Calorie counting apps 'can exacerbate eating disorders'

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· Five tips for your fussy eaters

卡路里计算应用"可能加剧饮食失调"

基因疗法首先"阻止"最常见的致盲原因

给挑剔的食客的五条建议

For those who are concerned, she advised: "It's best not to be anxious about picky eating, and instead calmly introduce one or two new foods with every meal."

对于那些担心的人，她建议:"最好不要对挑食感到焦虑，而是每顿饭都冷静地介绍一两种新食物。"

She said multivitamin tablets can supplement a diet, but are not a substitute for eating healthily.

她说，复合维生素片可以补充饮食，但不能代替健康饮食。

"It's much better to take on vitamins through a varied and balanced diet," she said, adding that too much of certain vitamins, including vitamin A, can be toxic, "so you don't want to overdo it".

"通过多样化和均衡的饮食摄入维生素要好得多，"她说，并补充说，包括维生素a在内的某些维生素过量可能是有毒的，"所以你不想过量摄入"。

Dr Atan said vegans are also at increased risk of B12 deficiency-related sight problems if they do not replace what they can lack when excluding meat from their diet.

Atan医生说，如果素食者不补充他们在饮食中所缺乏的东西，那么他们患B12缺乏引起的视力问题的风险也会增加。

"Nutritional yeast is a way of adding B12 to your diet," she said.

她说:"营养酵母是在你的饮食中添加B12的一种方式。"

Sources of vitamin B12 for vegans include:

纯素食者维生素B12的来源包括:

· breakfast cereals fortified with B12

· unsweetened soya drinks fortified with vitamin B12

· yeast extract, such as Marmite, which is fortified with vitamin B12

早餐麦片富含B12

添加维生素B12的无糖大豆饮料

酵母提取物，如酵母酵母膏，富含维生素B12

Rebecca McManamon, consultant dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, said restricted diets might happen for a range of reasons, including eating disorders, allergies and autism, and need specialist assessment.

英国饮食协会(British Dietetic Association)发言人、营养顾问丽贝卡•麦克马纳蒙(Rebecca McManamon)表示，限制饮食可能有一系列原因，包括饮食失调、过敏和自闭症，需要专家评估

"It's also worth noting that since 2016 the UK government has recommended daily Vitamin D supplementation (10 microgrammes/400 International Units) for everyone between October and March as we are not likely to get enough from fortified foods.

"值得注意的是，自2016年以来，英国政府建议在10月至3月期间每天补充维生素D(10微克/400国际单位)，因为我们不太可能从强化食品中获得足够的维生素D。

"Multivitamin supplementation is recommended for all children up to their fifth birthday."

"建议所有五岁以下的儿童补充多种维生素。"

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