<![CDATA[Preschool children often exhibit picky eating, choosing only foods they like, leading to stunted growth and development. In addition to growth problems, nutrition can also affect cognitive development, namely, short-term memory skills. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between picky eating behavior and nutritional status, as related to short-term memory ability, in preschool-age children in the Working Area of the Pannambungan Health Center, Makassar City. This type of research uses a descriptive analysis approach with a cross-sectional design with independent variables of picky eating behavior, nutritional status, and dependent variables, namely short-term memory ability measured at one time, with a total of 76 respondents who have preschool-age children, taken by purposive sampling technique, and data analyzed using the chi-square test. The results of the study yielded a p-value of p < α (p = 0.000), indicating a relationship among picky eating, nutritional status, and short-term memory ability in preschool-age children. The conclusion in this study is that picky eating behavior and nutritional status affect short-term memory ability in preschool-age children. Therefore, it is recommended that parents monitor their children’s diets by providing a balanced, varied selection of nutritious foods that support the growth and development of preschool-age children. ]]>
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