Childhood-onset eating problems : findings from research

In recent years, eating problems in childhood and adolescence have become a major public health issue.

Problems at this stage in the life course have a huge potential impact on the growth and development of the child and cause high anxiety for parents and carers.

It is only relatively recently that children with eating problems have come to be regarded as a subgroup.

Literature on all aspects of eating problems that specifically relates to children is limited, little is known about the nature, type and long-term outlook of the different disorders found and there is confusion in terms of classification.

This report therefore aims to provide a resource collating current information on eating problems in children in order to highlight the current understanding and position of research within the field.

The report is primarily concerned with children between the ages of 5 and 12 years; however, there is no definitive age at which children can suffer from the eating problems described.

It does not include issues relating to failure to thrive in infancy, and although eating problems in preschool children, anorexia nervosa and bulimia are discussed, they are not the focus of this report. The report identifies the different types of problems that are found, provides information on how prevalent eating problems are within this age group, highlights research that has identified risk factors for developing eating difficulties and why they arise and provides information on what can be done to treat the different disorders and what the long-term outlook is.

Following this, Chapter 7 focuses on research that has been conducted within the field; it provides an overview and includes critical appraisal of key research papers.

Finally, we have included a glossary of terms and a list of useful addresses.

It is hoped that this report will provide a central source of information that will provide answers to common questions about childhood-onset eating problems.