EATING PROBLEMS IN
CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
\\/
ì17
Centre of Knowledqe
on Healthy ch¡ld Dévelopment
OFFORD CENTRE FOR CHILD STUDIES
Magazines and tetevision are fitted with pictures of verythin girts
and women. Teens and even young chitdren come to see this body
type as normat and desirabte. They may diet, often to excess, to
change theirweight. The resutt can be a bodyweight that is too tow,
leading to medical problems and a distorted body image.
Some girts (and some boys, too) may take dieting and distorted body
perception to extremes, becoming dangerousty thin white stil.t thinking
that they're "fat." Others may eat too much at one sitting lbingeingl and
then make themselves vomit or take laxatives f purgingl to try to get an
"ideal." body shape. For these groups of chitdren and teens, their body
image, weight, eating behaviours and relationship with food become very
unheatthy. They are said to have eating disorders.
TYPES OF EATING DISORDERS
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa
is a condition characterized bv a refusatto maintain
Peopte with AN frequentty have symptoms of depression such as low mood,
irritabitity, sociatwithdrawat, and steep probtems. When these symptoms
occur with weight loss they are thought to be retated to starvation. AN is
not a benign condition - many individuats suffer lifelong effects inctuding
infertiLity, serious tooth damage lfrom the vomiting), heart probtems, bone
[oss, kidney damage, anemia, and even premature death. Chitdren and
adotescents with AN may not attain their ful.L height if they become itl before
they are futty grown. They may atso suffer bone [oss, making them at risk
for fractures.
Butimia Nervosa
Butimia Nervosa IBN) is an eating disorder characterized by episodes of
binge eating fottowed by setf-induced vomiting, use of laxatives or enemas,
water pitts or other medications, fasting, or excessive exercise.
UnLike AN, peopte with BN feel a lack of control over their behavior, being
unabte to either stop eating or to control how much or what they eat. Some
people with BN have psychotogicat probtems [ike depression or personatity
probtems that existed before the eating disorder began.
There are atso two types of BN; purging type and nonpurging type. ln
þurging type, vomiting, laxatives, or water pil.l.s are used to try to get rid
of the food that was eaten. Chitdren and adotescents are less likety to
have access to the medications but they do abuse them sometimes. ln the
nonpurging type, fasting and exercise are used.
Binge-eating Disorder
Binge-eating Disorder is characterized by the same binge-eating behaviour
as in BN but without the purging of BN.
Peopte with Binge-eating Disorder engage in bouts of out-of-controI eating,
takinq in excessive amounts of food within short periods of time even when
What causes eating disorders?
we do not know what causes eating disorders. There may be comptex
cuttura[, genetic and psychotogicat causes. No one factor is responsibte for
the conditions. They are more often found in western cuttures where food
is readity avaitabte and where thinness is a physicat ideat for women. Some
peopte with eating disorders are very setf-conscious about eatinq in pubtic.
They may not feel that they are good at anything. An anxiety disoider in
chiLdhood often precedes the onset of an eating disorder. A person's thinking
may be more rigid than average and they may have anxiety surrounding
sociaI situations. They may feel that they need to controI things around them
to reduce anxiety. Girts/women with the purging type of AN oi BN may have
drug or atcohol abuse probtems and have more probtems with their mood.
How common are they?
Exact figures are not known but it is betieved that about 1l2o/o to 1o/o of
teens and young adutts have Anorexia Nervosa [ANl, aLthough many more
probabty have some symptoms of the disorder. BN is much more common,
with about 1 to 3% of young peopte diagnosed with this condition. tn both
disorders, about 10% of sufferers are mate.
i{ow tong do they tast?
some teens and young adutts may have only one episode of AN but for
some the condition is chronic and may worsen over the course of many
years. Very sadty, about '10% of those with AN die, either from its physicat
effects, or from suicide.
BN usuatty starts in later adotescence or in early adutthood. The behavior
can go on foryears and can become chronic. lt atso can occur atternatety
with periods of normaI eating behavior.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
100 Questions & Answers About Anorexia Nervosa by Sari Shepphird
Jones and Barttett Pubtishers; 2009; ISBN-13: 978-07 63754501
Unl.ocking the Mysteries of Eating Disorders: A Life-Saving Guide to
Your Chitd's Treatment and Recovery by David Herzog
M cG
raw-Hitl; 2007 ; ISBN-
1
3
: 978-007
1
47537 2
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDES
My Kid is Back: Empowering Parents to Beat Anorexia Nervosa
by June Atexander
Routtedge; 201 0, lsBN- 13 978-0415581
1
58
Treating Butimia in Adotescents: A Family-Based Approach by DanieI
[e Grange
The Guitford Press; 2009; ISBN- 13: 978-1 606233511
Overcoming Anorexia Nervosa by Christopher Freeman
Robinson Pubtishing; 2009; lsBN-13: 978-184901 1303
Hetp Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder by James Lock
The Guil.ford Press; ; 2005 ISBN-13:978-1572309081
Treatment ManuaI for Anorexia Nervosa: A Famity-Based Approach
by James Lock
The
G u i tf
ord Press ; 2002 ls B N - 1 3 : 97 B- 1 57 2308367
BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Reading Levet: Ages 9-12
Anorexia by Stacy Better Stryer
Greenwood: 2009 ISBN-13: 978-0313359750
WEB SITES
NationaI Eatinq Disorders lnformation Centre