Eating disorders are psychological conditions characterized by unhealthy, obsessive, or disordered eating habits. Eating disorders come with both emotional and physical symptoms and include anorexia nervosa (voluntary starvation), bulimia nervosa (binge-eating followed by purging), binge-eating disorder (binge-eating without purging), and other or unspecified eating disorders (disordered eating patterns that do not fit into another category).
Parenting a Child with an Eating Disorder
Watching a child suffer through an eating disorder can be deeply upsetting. Parents shouldn’t blame themselves for the development of the disorder, but they can take steps to provide support and help their child heal.
Different stages of the process require different actions. Those steps might include recognizing the signs of a disorder, learning about the illness, discussing it with the child, and encouraging them to seek treatment.
For more, see Parenting a Child with an Eating Disorder.
A recent review explores forced nasogastric feeding in severe anorexia, highlighting ethical dilemmas and trauma risks.
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