FEEDING AND EATING

DISORDERS
OVERVIEW
 Obesity (not a disorder)
 Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder

 Pica

 Anorexia Nervosa

 Bulimia Nervosa

 Binge Eating Disorder

HOW EATING PATTERNS DEVELOP
 Normal Development
 Problematic eating habits and picky eating are common
in early childhood
 Entering school comes with pressure to conform to
certain body types
 Preoccupation with weight and dieting may be
expressed as young as ages 7-10
OBESITY (NOT A MENTAL DISORDER)
 Excessive body fat, usually defined as a BMI
(body mass index--a height-to-weight ratio)
 Can affect children’s psychological and physical
development
 Is severely stigmatized in certain cultures
OBESITY
 Causes
 Heritability accounts for a substantial
portion of the variance in obesity.
 Individual and family-related factors:
dietary and activity routines, poor
communication, lack of perceived family
support, and sexual and physical abuse
OBESITY
 Prevention & Intervention
 Family education & parent training

 Restricting diets not usually recommended

 Increase activity and nutritional quality

AVOIDANT/RESTRICTIVE FOOD INTAKE DISORDER
 Characterized by a sudden or marked deceleration of
weight and a slowing or disruption of emotional and
social development
 Prevalence and development
 Affects up to one third of of young children
 Equally common among boys and girls
AVOIDANT/RESTRICTIVE FOOD INTAKE
DISORDER
 Causes and Treatment
 Many interacting risk factors

 Associated with poverty, unemployment,

social isolation, and maternal eating

disorders
 Treatment: detailed assessment of feeding

behavior and parent-child interactions +

allowing parents to play a role in the
child’s recovery
PICA
 Ingestion of inedible, non-nutritive substances
for a period of at least one month
 Affects mostly very young children
 More prevalent among institutionalized
children and adults, especially those with
severe impairments and intellectual
disabilities
PICA
 Causes and Treatment
 Poor stimulation/supervision in home

environment; vitamin/mineral deficiency

 Treatments are based on operant
conditioning procedures and teaching
caregivers to keep the environment tidy
and safe.
 ANOREXIA NERVOSA

 Restriction of energy intake, leading to very low body

weight
 Fear of fatness

 Overvalue weight and shape, disturbance in the way

weight and shape are experienced
 Two types

 Restricting
 Binge-eating/purging type
ANOREXIA NERVOSA
 Developmental Course
 Onset is usually between ages 14 and 18
 Often begins with dieting
 BULIMIA NERVOSA
 Binge eating (BE)
 Large amount of food
 Loss of control
 Inappropriate compensatory behaviors (ICB)

 BE & ICB occur at least 1x per wk for 3 mos.

 Developmental Course

 Late adolescence to early adulthood

 Bingeing/ purging and preoccupation with
weight begin much earlier
 BINGE-EATING DISORDER
 Like bulimia nervosa without compensatory
behaviors
 Associated with low body satisfaction and self-
esteem, depressive mood, overvaluation of
weight and shape
 A DYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE ON THE
DETERMINANTS OF EATING DISORDERS
FOR MORE INFORMATION…

 http://www.maudsleyparents.org

 https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org