Anorexia in children: what symptoms to recognize and what to do

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There are more and more children suffering from anorexia in modern society every year. Most often, the cause of this disorder is the false ideals of beauty imposed by the media, but often the family itself is also guilty of such a violation, having not instilled in the child the skills of proper eating behavior.

Food for a small child is a symbol of love and security at the same time. Therefore, any nutritional disorders in infancy and early childhood are fraught with the formation of distrust of the world and the mother (as the root cause), and complex, cold and (or) conflictual relationships with the mother entail disturbances in eating habits.

The baby unconsciously rejects an unloving mother, aggression accumulates in him, and therefore the food offered by her is also rejected. Subsequently, this disorder develops into anorexia, or food is obediently accepted, but it stands in the throat and causes a desire to reject it, which is fraught with bulimia.

One way or another, such a child - and then an adult - actually experiences a hunger for love, and at the same time, by refusing food, he symbolically refuses love, which drives the internal conflict into a dead end.

Classification

Anorexia nervosa in school-age children is divided into several types, which are diagnosed according to the characteristics of the development and course of the disease and the stages of the pathological process.

In medicine, the following syndromes are identified that are associated with the corresponding symptoms of the disease:

Monothematic dysmorphia (prevalence of fixation on extra pounds).
Bulimia (spontaneous eating in large quantities, uncontrolled overeating).
Vomitomania (attempts to get rid of eaten food by inducing vomiting and diarrhea).

There are also three stages of development of somatogenic anorexia in children and adolescents:

Initial. It lasts from three to four years and begins in preschoolers or primary school students. The main signals about the onset of the disease are a rapid change in interests and changes in the idea of an ideal body and beauty.
Active. Widespread among teenagers. Characterized by persistent and frequent attempts to reduce weight to an ideal figure. Severe dietary restrictions, grueling workouts lasting several hours, diuretics and laxatives, and the traditional method of inducing a gag reflex are used. A hallmark of the stage is weight loss of more than 30-50% of total body weight.
Cachectic. The body is exhausted, asthenic syndrome manifests itself, critical thinking is impaired. If medical assistance is not provided in time, the patient will die.

Complications

Due to the tendency of adolescents to hide the manifestations of the disease, seeking medical help occurs untimely, at the stage of development of complications. Lack of nutrients leads to disruption of all functional systems. Pubertal development stops and reverses. B12-deficiency anemia, bradycardia, heart attacks, amenorrhea, osteopenia and osteoporosis (calcium loss), hypothyroidism, caries develop. Against the background of decreased immune defense, various infections occur. Depressive, dysphoric, anxiety disorders, a tendency to self-blame and decreased critical abilities increase the risk of suicide - up to 50% of deaths are caused by suicide.

Causes

Sometimes the causes of anorexia are very difficult to determine. Scientific research has helped narrow down the likely causes. The first steps to the development of the disease are:

Unhealthy interest in various methods of losing weight.
Hatred towards one’s appearance, body, figure.
Obsession with changing one's appearance through various diets and heavy physical activity.
A radical change in opinion about health, attractiveness and beauty.
Imitating the lifestyle of famous actresses, singers, film characters who became famous for their thin physique.

There are a number of reasons why the percentage of development of anorexia in a child increases several times:

Violation of eating habits. During preschool age, anorexic children are required to follow a strict meal schedule. Food should enter the stomach at the same time every day.
Eating unwanted foods before the main meal. You can give your child sweets only after he has eaten a hearty meal. It is also important to monitor the amount of confectionery he eats.
Limited menu. It is preferable to use a two-week nutrition system, which includes products necessary for the growth and development of the child’s body. Otherwise, eating the same food every day will quickly get boring for your child.

One of the most common causes of anorexia in children is force feeding or serving too large portions of food. If you have a one-time lack of appetite, you should not force your teenager to eat right away.

Physical exhaustion can be caused by various psychological factors, which are expressed along with dry mucous membranes, deterioration of the skin, hair and nails.

The most common diseases that contribute to the occurrence of diseases are:

A negative attitude towards one’s own body, as a result of which a teenager strives for unhealthy weight loss.
The influence of fashion trends regarding body shape.
Heredity.
Frequent stress.
Having mental health problems.

How to create proper nutrition?

Treatment of anorexia should not be in vain, so it is necessary to carefully monitor the baby’s diet.

By following the following recommendations, you will be able to achieve the desired result:

Do not give your child sweets before meals. It should not interrupt your appetite .
Follow your diet strictly.
You should not give your child food immediately after playing.
Help your child develop food concentration: remove his toys from sight, turn off the TV, do not let him play on the phone or other devices while eating.
Do not let your baby drink water right away (unless he or she is choking).

Symptoms of anorexia in children

Since during adolescence significant qualitative changes occur in the body, then, accordingly, a person’s appearance is not always transformed for the better.

But children, fixated on maintaining their body in ideal condition, do not want to understand that their attempts to make significant adjustments to their attractiveness have a completely opposite, negative effect on the condition of the entire organism as a whole.

A teenager who does not notice quick results from the efforts made, tries to speed up the process of improvement and every day increasingly refuses to eat, limits himself to the consumption of certain classes of foods, he is physically active to the point of weakness in the body and dizziness.

Changes in the child's appearance begin to appear. He is rapidly losing weight, but does not notice it in pursuit of ideals. Also, frequent stomach pains, constant weakness and irritability do not interfere with him.

Manifestations of symptoms become more and more pronounced over time, along with the child’s desire to find the figure of his dreams.

Up to a year

In the age period up to one year, it is quite easy to identify a predisposition to anorexia in a child, since he cannot hide his aversion to food.

There are several types of anorexia in children under one year of age:

Dysthymic (the baby is capricious, cries and shows dissatisfaction in every possible way when trying to feed).
Regurgitation (during eating, the baby often burps for no reason; when examining the gastrointestinal tract, no pathologies are detected).
Active refusal to eat. The baby refuses mother's milk and turns away. A child under the age of one year shows in every possible way his reluctance to eat. When you try to force him to swallow food, he spits it out or compresses his lips tightly, not giving the slightest chance for feeding.
Passive refusal. The baby shows reluctance to eat food necessary for the growth and development of his body. Usually this section includes porridge, meat, and vegetables. Unusual products (for example, lemon) are given priority. Fills his mouth with food, but does not want to swallow it.

Before raising a panic and allegedly diagnosing the disease, you need to pay attention to changes in the child’s taste preferences over the last period of time. Aversions to specific foods may be related to growing older.

Preschool age

Children aged 1-3 years are developing their psyche, so any destructive relationships in the surrounding society can lead to the development of anorexia.

The most common reasons are:

Conflicts within the family and peers.
Parents' divorce.
The death of one of your loved ones.
Worries about the upcoming transition from kindergarten to school.
Violence.

Parents should understand the seriousness of such reasons and try to evoke only positive emotions. Attention is immediately drawn to the main signs of the disease. These include:

Anxious dream.
Increased excitability or weakness.
Closedness.
Problems with stool.
Vomiting after eating.
A long break between meals, during which the child does not develop an appetite.

School age

Most often, anorexia nervosa occurs in girls during adolescence. Modern ideas about the ideal figure traumatize their psyche. Television programs about weight loss and trends in the world of beauty fashion distort real facts about a person’s healthy appearance and influence the development of a teenager’s personality and worldview.

Due to non-compliance with media standards of beauty, teenage girls acquire a huge layer of complexes, which they are embarrassed to admit to adults, and continue to force themselves into the framework of a weight loss program. They may not notice that their complexion has already reached the ideal, and will continue to torture themselves with strict diets, excessive physical activity and self-hatred.

The main methods of large-scale weight loss are:

Partial or complete refusal to eat.
Special induction of the gag reflex.
Taking laxatives.
Frequent and long training sessions.

The main goal of a teenager with anorexia is to burn as many calories as possible by any means necessary. However, in the struggle for better appearance, he does not understand what disruptions in the body’s functioning he will have to face in the near future.

Prevention

It should be noted that even after treatment, the teenager must follow all the doctors’ recommendations for a complete recovery and normalization of eating habits.

It is advisable to lead a healthy lifestyle, but not for the purpose of losing weight, but for personal pleasure.

Anorexia is a mental illness, the main symptom of which is an eating disorder, characterized by an inadequate assessment of one's appearance, a pathological desire to lose weight, a panicky fear of obesity and a distorted attitude towards food.

Although cases of anorexia have been described for a very long time, their number has been growing rapidly in the last couple of decades. This disease is most common among teenage girls aged 14-18 years; among teenage boys, the disease is 10 times less common.

Diagnostics

At the slightest suspicion of anorexia in a child, it is important to promptly seek help from a specialist. Since a teenager tries to hide the presence of deviations in eating behavior, it is quite difficult to independently detect the disease in the early stages of development. A psychiatrist, psychologist or psychotherapist will help you conduct an examination and prescribe the right treatment.

There are several most common and effective ways to identify anorexia in a child:

Individual conversation. Through ordinary communication and leading questions, the doctor identifies a person’s tendency to diet, lose weight and engage in excessive physical activity. After a short oral test, the specialist interviews the parents, asking them about the time of onset of the first symptoms, the number of kilograms the child has lost over the past 30 days, behavioral changes and their nature.
Questionnaires. Various tests will also help identify certain mental disorders. In this case, the eating behavior assessment scale and a survey about cognitive reactions in this disease are most often used. Additional help in recognizing the disease can be tests to study the emotional sphere, self-esteem, and personal characteristics.
Projective tests. The point of this method is to identify a teenager’s attempts to hide self-hatred and the desire to lose weight. To do this, the child is asked to take the Luscher and “Self-Portrait” tests.

There are also chemical ways to identify children with anorexia. The medical institution conducts general and biochemical blood and urine tests, tests for hormone levels, and examination of the gastrointestinal tract.

Such measures will help determine whether the patient has anorexia nervosa.

Drugs and medicines

Treatment using medications can be prescribed by a doctor. Since they are used in the most serious and advanced cases, they should be used only under the supervision of a treating specialist.

Antidepressants are often used to alleviate the child's psychological condition, which also helps to gain weight .

Among these drugs, those that increase body weight and reduce anxiety levels . They also help relieve eating disorders .

Read about how to determine appendicitis in a child here.

Treatment

Treatment of children for anorexia involves working in two directions: restoring the gastrointestinal tract with subsequent weight gain and instilling a correct and healthy attitude towards food.

In the first case, classical methods of combating the disease are used. This includes eating five to six meals a day and maintaining a sleep schedule. The use of medications to relieve vomiting, diarrhea and constipation is also necessary.

At the second stage, doctors adhere to the following sequence: first - psychotherapy, then treat psychological abnormalities.

As a result, the patient returns to normal mode and is already able to control his emotions.

Main components of treatment:

Cognitive behavioral therapy. It involves working with a psychotherapist, which lasts at least four months. Includes correction of unhealthy ideas, training in controlling pathological emotions. The doctor helps the patient develop adequate self-esteem, love for himself and his body. The teenager is encouraged to independently choose his own basic diet, which should include those foods that he excluded previously. The child starts a personal diary, where he writes down his thoughts and experiences, trying to transform them in a positive way.
Family psychotherapy. The clinic holds special sessions where family problems that provoke the development of anorexia in a child are discussed. Parents should be explained what not to say or do in relation to a teenager, so as not to hurt his feelings and not provoke a relapse. Mother and father are obliged to contribute as much as possible to maintaining a positive atmosphere within the family in order to obtain good treatment results.
Pharmacotherapy. Doctors additionally prescribe medication that will increase the effectiveness of psychotherapy and self-control of the child. As a rule, specialists prescribe antidepressants and appetite stimulants.