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Eating disorders are problems in the way people eat.

They are related to their eating behavior, their emotions, their intense preoccupation with their body weight and their body image. They can negatively affect both their physical and psychosocial health.

In recent years, the incidence of eating disorders has increased in children and adolescents. Various factors such as environmental, social, “teasing” related to weight from family or peers, the role model of the thin person projected by the media and social networks can trigger the appearance of eating disorders.

There are several types of eating disorders. The most common are presented below.

• Psychogenic anorexia: people with anorexia consciously consume less food and maintain a body weight lower than normal. They have an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted body image. They are very strict about what and how much they will eat, they constantly think about food and the calories it contains and use various methods to avoid gaining weight such as abstaining from food, intense exercise or the use of purgative methods such as vomiting and laxatives.
• Psychogenic bulimia: people with bulimia eat very large amounts of food in a very short period of time and feel that they have no self-control to stop this overeating. They may intentionally vomit after overeating to prevent weight gain or use laxatives, diuretics, fasting (abstaining from food), or intense exercise. They judge themselves based on their body shape and weight. They may be normal weight or overweight, and in some cases, they have frequent yo-yo weight changes.
• Binge eating disorder: People with binge eating disorder eat large amounts of food and feel out of control. Binge eating episodes may occur even when the person is not hungry and may cause intense guilt after overeating. These people usually gain weight and may become overweight or obese. They may eat faster than normal and eat alone, without others seeing them. Unlike people with bulimia nervosa, they do not use purging methods to compensate for overeating.

Early diagnosis of eating disorders is crucial because it seems that this way there may be more chances of treatment. Therefore, both parents / guardians and pediatricians should be suspicious and talk to the child about their concerns.

Treating eating disorders requires the cooperation of a team of health professionals (pediatrician, psychiatrist, psychologist, dietitian) with experience in such issues. Both the team and the family require calm, patience, affection, time and effort.