Identification and Management of Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents

This blog discusses the identification and management of eating disorders in children and adolescents. It covers the screening, medical complications, psychological and neurological effects, oral effect, and cardiovascular effect of eating disorders. It also includes the treatment principles of eating disorder spectrum and the role of paediatrician in advocacy and prevention.

Assesment 1

Table of Contents
Blog 1...............................................................................................................................................3
Blog 2...............................................................................................................................................4
Blog 3...............................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

Blog 1
Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents, (2015) [Online] Available through
<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276471448_Eating_Disorders_in_Children_and_
Adolescents>
Summary
According to Dasha Nicholls (2015), eating disorder is one of the main issue within
children where it is needed to focus on the evidence based treatment which includes two
different disorders like Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa. In this, there is description
about the overview of classification and its outcomes. It also describes the difference between
the adolescent and child eating disorders along with its later onset. This also provides the
information about comprehensive approach to treatment and management of eating disorder
within children. This also describes the spectrum of early-onset of eating difficulties. There is
also discussion about the management and treatment of such disorders. It includes the overview
of treatment issues.
Findings
Eating disorder refers to the feeding disorder within childhood where early onset of
eating disorder refers to Anorexia Nervosa. Many children are affected from this disorder which
includes create burden in the care services. This create difficulty for the healthcare professional
to take care and decrease the cases of such disorders. There is range of early onset disorder
which include all physical, social and psychological domains which are affected. Rather than
this, there are many difficulties which can lead to create difficulty in dealing with the other
difficulty which can recognises as the fear of choking and other symptoms like clinically within
patient due to food avoidance can be emotional disorder. Eating difficulties can include different
other disorder that may include pervasive developmental disorder, depression, obsessive-
compulsive disorder. It creates the loss of appetite which includes the psychological factors that
can contribute significantly (Barney, (2020)).
In this, there is need to focus on the treatment intervention which includes the psychological
and physical needs to remove the difficulty related with eating disorder. To avoid ill health and
to attain better health, there is need for the various application of management and treatment
which can influence individual to get better and effective health. Parents should take
responsibility to take about their children and their food intake which can allow to get better
response and avoid the risk of getting eating disorder within children. In this, through taking care

and control on the food intake can be helpful to minimise the risk of getting food disorder within
children. During sever condition, there is one of the best advice is that they should get the
hospitalisation which can allow to deliver the quality treatment that patient should stabilised. In
this, admission within paediatric ward can be effective for the primarily medical reasons which
can work successfully and help to get over through the eating disorder. Through managing the
target weight can be more effective and allow to get better health to the children and avoid the
risk of getting eating disorder (Cucchiaro, (2017)). Calcium supplement can be effective and
allow to get better and effective limitation within attaining good health. Through family therapy
along with parental counselling can also help to avoid the risk of eating disorder within children.
In this, it has been found that with the help of some specific intervention individual is able to get
better and effective improvement within children and can attain better health.
Blog 2
Eating Disorders in Children 12 and Under: Learn the Warning Signs, (2021) [Online] Available
through <https://www.psycom.net/eating-disorders-in-children>
Summary
According to Kathleen Smith (2021), there are different sign and symptoms of eating
disorder within children under 12. Individual who is working with children should ensure about
the sign which can include the difference and can find different sign and symptoms which can
lead to cause the eating disorder. It is needed to ensure about the physical health of individual
which can have high impact on avoid the risk of eating disorder within children. There are
different cause and risk which can associate with sense of increasing risk of developing eating
disorder. There are different common types of eating disorder that includes different early signs
and needed for treatment.
Findings
Eating disorder have different cause and risk that have high impact on children health. It
is difficult to find out that what causes eating disorder but there is some of the information which
can allow to estimate the risk of causing eating disorder within children. Eating disorder is
heritable, when there is any individual in family have eating disorder then there is high risk of
getting this disorder there in the family children rather than those whose family member are not
possessing this disorder. Those children are at higher risk who are possessing the chronic illness,

especially those who diagnosed with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Thera re many children
who are having anxiety, depression along with other mental illness might have higher risk of
getting eating disorder (Resmark, (2019)). It has been found that there are different types of
eating disorder within children which includes Restrictive food intake disorder (AFRID), Pica,
Anorexia Nervosa and others. AFRID is generally experienced by young children where children
feel difficulty in eating and lead to includes lack of interest in food or some certain type of food.
Pica refers to the food disorder in which children may eat non-food or any non-nutritional
substance persistently. In this, children development may fall outside the expectation
development level. There is different substance which may include soap, dirt, sand or chalk.
There is different early sign which can allow to identify the risk of developing eating disorder
within children. This can include the detection and prevention. There are some of the early
warning signs like aversion to tastes or textures, fear of stomach aches, tantrums, worrying about
body shape and body image, excessive bowel movement (Harris, (2021)). There is also some
sign which can includes the development of eating disorder like weight loss, lack of growth,
reducing food portions, thinning of hair, delay in puberty, mood swings, digestion problem,
hoarding foods and others. There is also some treatment of eating disorder within children which
may include regaining body weight through nutritional and physical health. Behavioural
interventions can also help to get rid of eating disorder within children. Getting help from
nutritionist, paediatrician along with mental health professionals. Healthy relationship with food
can be effective and allow to get better health and avoid the risk of developing eating disorder.
Blog 3
Identification and Management of Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents, (2021)
[Online] Available through
<https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/147/1/e2020040279/33504/Identification-
and-Management-of-Eating-Disorders>
Summary
According to Laurie (2021), eating disorder refers to a serious health issue which can
lead to cause life threating illnesses within children. There are many different health impact that
can cause special and psychological development within children. There is limitation within
resource of eating disorder which can be complex for treatment. In this, paediatricians are the
one who can provide medical supervision within patient and help to diagnosed eating disorder

along with providing medical supervision, coordinating care along with advocating appropriate
services. There is psychological perspective regarding eating disorder which can provide
information and related with medical complications in patient with eating disorder. There is
discussion about the screening for eating disorder, medical complications within patient with
eating disorder, psychological and neurological effects, oral effect and cardiovascular effect. It
also includes the treatment principles of eating disorder spectrum and role of paediatrician in
advocacy and prevention.
Findings
There is a finding that eating disorder is serious and can potentially cause life threatening
illness within individual within life span. There is need to evaluate the eating disorder within
individual which can lead to developed within children. There are different diagnostic and
statistical manual of mental health disorder which includes the difference and provide
information about the eating disorder within children (Dhaliwal & et. al., (2019)). There are
some of the diagnostic features of the eating disorder diagnostic which include the restriction in
caloric intake of energy requirement that lead to lower body weight, sex, physical growth and
projected growth. There is some of the prevalence data which includes eating disorder within
children for the estimated lifetime prevalence of eating disorder. This eating disorder have the
onset age of 12.5 years where girls and boys within adolescents. There is one of the cause of this
eating disorder includes the requirement of dietary control which can have high impact on the
children health. This is the one which can lead to cause difficulty within individual that is related
with eating disorder. Through control the eating behaviour can have impact on the control and
avoid the risk of eating disorder. Paediatricians are able to detect the eating disorder within
individual and can lead to create detection (Hedman & et. al., (2019)). There are some of the
comprehensive assessment that is highly effective and able to control the eating disorder through
nutritional, medical and psychiatric history and following the detailed physical examination can
have better outcomes in detecting the eating disorder within children. There are some typical
initial laboratory testing which can include serum electrolytes, complete blood cell count,
magnesium, glucose and phosphorus, urinalysis, transaminases along with thyroid stimulating
hormone concentration. Eating disorder can impact individual organ system along with some
potential medical complications that can cause consequences of weight, malnutrition, purging
and weight changes. Some of the medical complications within children are like psychological

along with neurologic effects, dermatologic effects, dental or oral effects, cardiovascular effects
and others (Pullmer & et. al., (2019)).

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Barney, (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic and rapid implementation of adolescent and young
adult telemedicine: challenges and opportunities for innovation. Journal of Adolescent
Health, 67(2), 164-171.
Cucchiaro, (2017). Chronic pain in children: a look at the referral process to a pediatric pain
clinic. International journal of pediatrics, 2017.
Dhaliwal & et. al., (2019). Risk factors for unhealthy weight gain and obesity among children
with autism spectrum disorder. International journal of molecular sciences, 20(13), 3285.
Harris, (2021). Challenging misconceptions about eating disorders in healthcare services: an
urgent issue. British Journal of Healthcare Management, 27(7), 172-175.
Hedman & et. al., (2019). Bidirectional relationship between eating disorders and autoimmune
diseases. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60(7), 803-812.
Pullmer & et. al., (2019). Kindness begins with yourself: The role of self‐compassion in
adolescent body satisfaction and eating pathology. International Journal of Eating
Disorders, 52(7), 809-816.
Resmark, (2019). Treatment of anorexia nervosa—new evidence-based guidelines. Journal of
clinical medicine, 8(2), 153.
Online
Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents, (2015) [Online] Available through
<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276471448_Eating_Disorders_in_Children_
and_Adolescents>
Eating Disorders in Children 12 and Under: Learn the Warning Signs, (2021) [Online]
Available through <https://www.psycom.net/eating-disorders-in-children>
Identification and Management of Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents, (2021)
[Online] Available through
<https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/147/1/e2020040279/33504/
Identification-and-Management-of-Eating-Disorders>