UK: Teenager loses sight and hearing due to junk food diet

A teenager has been left blind and deaf after living off a diet of chips, crisps and sausages.

The youngster’s family, from Bristol, realised something was seriously wrong when he began to lose his hearing at the age of 14.

His eyesight also quickly deteriorated and he has now been left with no job and no social life as a result, his mother says.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said her son began going off his meals when he was about seven years old and would only eat chips, Pringles, sausages, processed ham and white bread.

She said: “The first we knew about it was when he began coming home from primary school with his packed lunch untouched.

“I would make him nice sandwiches and put an apple or other fruit in and he wouldn’t eat any of it. His teachers became concerned too.

The teen, now 19, suffers from an eating disorder known as ARFID (avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder).

The teenager’s lack of nutrition severely damaged his optic nerve, causing a condition known as nutritional optic neuropathy