Eating & Feeding Disorders

Eating and feeding disorders are serious mental and physical health illnesses characterised by persistent changes in eating behaviours, as well as related thoughts and feelings. They severely affect nutrition, growth, daily functioning and quality of life at all ages.

These are eating disorders:

• Anorexia nervosa: Dieting so extreme that it endangers health, based on an erroneous view of one’s physique and fear of gaining weight

• Bulimia nervosa: Binge eating, followed by compensatory behaviours (vomiting, taking laxatives, or over-exercising)

• Binge-eating disorder: Eating massive amounts of food uncontrollably, without purging, creating embarrassment and discomfort

• Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID): restriction of food intake owing to anxiety, fear of consequences, or sensory aversion, not body image problems
Paediatric feeding disorder (PFD) is a condition in which children are unable to take in enough nourishment through the oral route, leading to failure to grow, developmental delays, and feeding refusal behaviours such as coughing, gagging, or food packing.

Symptoms include somatic (weight fluctuations, tiredness, gastrointestinal problems) and psychological (preoccupation with food, anxiety around mealtimes) symptoms. Medical disorders, social influences, psychological issues, and genetics are risk factors.

Treatment usually involves a multidisciplinary approach that includes medical stabilisation, dietary rehabilitation, psychotherapy (particularly CBT), family-based treatment for children, and sometimes medication. Early intervention can avert life-threatening consequences such as heart failure, osteoporosis and severe malnutrition.