What function does 「しいて」 serve in this sentence?


I have this sentence in a JLPT study textbook, as an example of the use of
`しいて`:

> 食{た}べたくなければ **しいて** 食べることないから、食べられるものだけ食べてね。

The translation is, "If you don't want to eat it, you don't have to, so only
eat what you can." I can get that meaning, but, it seems to me that if `しいて`
weren't in the sentence, it would still mean the exact same thing.

> 食{た}べたくなければ、食べることないから、食べられるものだけ食べてね。

The book says that `しいて` is "an expression that shows compulsion", and does
not give much else for explanation. So it doesn't really say enough to help me
see what `しいて` brings to the party.

What exactly does `しいて` mean, and how does it make a difference in the two
sentences above?




WWWJDIC writes しいて (adv) as 強いて "by force". In your sentence, しいて食べる is
roughly equivalent to 無理して食べる, i.e. overdoing it in some way. A more literal
translation might be

> 食べたくなければしいて食べることないから、食べられるものだけ食べてね。  
>  If you don't want to eat anything, don't force yourself (to eat) and just
> eat as much as you can/want.




WWWJDIC writes しいて (adv) as 強いて "by force". In your sentence, しいて食べる is
roughly equivalent to 無理して食べる, i.e. overdoing it in some way. A more literal
translation might be

> 食べたくなければしいて食べることないから、食べられるものだけ食べてね。  
>  If you don't want to eat anything, don't force yourself (to eat) and just
> eat as much as you can/want.

