Many thanks to Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC 
President @Eating Disorder Hope & Addiction Hope, for her comments.
Learning about eating disorders is an excellent strategy for your family’s overall wellbeing. Many times, eating disorders, with adults as well as with children, are self-soothing, numbing and avoidance strategies children and adults use to manage anxiety, trauma and dysfunction. As your child’s advocate, look to food as a mental well-being cue.
Though people often associate eating disorders with teens and young adults, it is possible for eating disorders to impact younger children, too. In fact, the rates of eating disorders among both young girls and young boys has grown in recent years. The American Academy of Pediatrics has determined that pediatric eating disorders are more common in children than type 2 diabetes.
Types of Eating Disorders
Anorexia Nervosa –
This eating disorder impacts teens, when she or he believes they are overweight, whether they physically are or not. National Eating Disorder Association shows 25% of individuals with anorexia nervosa are male. These children can obsess about the food they’re taking in. Typically, they limit their food intake to lose weight, even if they’re already extremely thin, a subtype called Restrictive Type Eating. A second subtype is Bulimic Eating (binging and purging); binging on food, followed by self-induced vomiting, purging, or fasting because of the shame created by their overeating.
Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any mental health disorder. Thus, identifying and treating anorexia as early as possible is paramount. Parents and Caregivers can save lives by being aware of disordered eating behaviors and seeking empirically supported treatment for their child. – Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC, Founder @ Eating Disorder Hope
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder –
Children with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder typically have experienced a disturbance in their eating, often leading to a lack of interest in food or a sensory aversion to certain foods. For example, if a child once got food poisoning or choked on food, they might avoid the food they associate with the discomfort. Your child might benefit from behavior interventions, like exposure therapy, designed to reintroduce them to foods they avoid and help them create a healthy relationship with eating.
It is important to note that though ARFID often occurs in childhood, it can appear later in life or be overlooked during childhood and remain untreated into adulthood. – Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC, Founder @ Eating Disorder Hope
Pica –
Pica is the case of eating non-food items, regularly. This behavior isn’t the same as a baby chewing on objects, which is developmentally appropriate. The key is the behavior must be atypical for the child’s expected level of development. Commonly ingested items include dirt, sand, ice, soap, and hair. Additional substances and symptoms are listed on the National Eating Disorder Association website.
What Causes Eating Disorders?
While there are still unanswered questions about the causes of eating disorders, researchers are finding some commonalities that increase the risk.
Researchers at the Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard PrattCenter have found that eating disorders can be heritable, so if a parent or close family member has or has had an eating disorder, a child is 7-12 times more likely to develop one. Children who struggle with other mental disorders might be at a greater risk. Children with a chronic illness, like insulin-dependent diabetes, are more likely to develop an eating disorder, too.
How can I Detect an Eating Disorder?
Detecting signs as early as possible will help in the prevention or treatment of eating disorders. Early warning signs may be subtle and can include:
– Unwarranted fear and/or stress surrounding stomach issues or pain
– Aversions to tastes or textures
– A disproportionate (excessive) number of bowel movements
– Repetitive tantrums around meal times
If the eating disorder has progressed, symptoms can include:
– Refusal to eat (or a blatant reduction in consumption amount)
– Obvious weight loss
– Stunted growth and/or delayed puberty
– Hair loss/thinning
– Constipation and problems surrounding digestion
– Irritability and mood swings
What Should I do if my Child has an Eating Disorder?
Eating disorders are complex issues that may warrant multiple types of treatments. For example, nutritional counseling can help your child recover physically, nutritionally and develop a healthy relationship with food. Emotional and mental support from a professional therapist who specializes in eating disorders in children and adolescents will help reveal stressors in your child’s life and provide a safe place to learn healthy coping behaviors. Your child’s relationship to food can be a helpful indicator of their internal emotional state.
When supportive parents accompany their children through their disorder, children are often more successful in overcoming their disorder. The National Center for Biotechnical Information concludes that “outpatient family-based treatment focused on weight restoration, reducing blame, and empowering caregivers as particularly effective.” Focusing as a family on health, rather than weight, and encouraging activities unrelated to physical appearance, are good strategies, to build self-esteem.
