(HealthDay News) -- Pica often affects children with developmental disorders, pregnant women and sometimes people with epilepsy. It's characterized by a craving to eat non-food substances, such as paint, plaster, chalk, cornstarch, dirt or cigarettes.

The Nemours Foundation mentions these possible triggers for pica:

• Being deficient in vitamins and minerals, such as iron or zinc.
• Dieting too strictly.
• Being malnourished.
• Lack of parental supervision.
• Having a developmental problem, such as autism or mental retardation.
• Having certain mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia or obsessive compulsive disorder.

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Related MedlinePlus Pages:

• Eating Disorders