Eating Disorders Among Young Children

Among U.S. children ages 9 to 10, the frequency of eating disorder diagnoses was low, revealed data.

The authors suggest sex differences in eating disorders may not emerge until later on in adolescence.

In this group of children, the prevalence of anorexia nervosa was 0.1 percent, there were no cases of bulimia nervosa, the frequency of binge-eating disorder was 0.6 percent, and the prevalence of any other specified feeding and eating disorder diagnosis was 0.7 percent.

‘Across all eating disorder diagnoses, the overall frequency was 1.4 percent with no significant differences between girls and boys in a nationally representative group of 4,500 children 9 to 10 years old. ’

Authors: Aaron J. Blashill, Ph.D., of San Diego State University, San Diego, California, and coauthors

Source: Eurekalert