

For diagnosis, the behavior must persist for at least one month, not be in keeping with the child's developmental stage (and age cut off of 24 months or more is suggested by DSM V), and not be socially normative or culturally acceptable behavior. The term is derived from "pica-pica," the Latin word for the magpie bird, because of the bird's indiscriminate gathering and eating a variety of objects for the sake of curiosity.
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The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) defines pica as eating nonnutritive, nonfood substances over a period of at least one month.

The nature of ingested items is variable, including but not limited to earth (geophagy), raw starches (amylophagy), ice (pagophagia), charcoal, ash, paper, chalk, cloth, baby powder, coffee grounds, and eggshells. Additionally, the behavior must not be in keeping with the child's developmental stage and must not be socially normative or culturally acceptable behavior. The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) defines pica as eating non-nutritive, non-food substances over a period of at least one month.
