What are anorexia symptoms in children. Anorexia nervosa syndrome in children: causes and symptoms

Despite the fact that anorexia nervosa in children accompanies many mental disorders, it is also distinguished by some psychiatrists as a separate psychogenic disease. The question of what to attribute this disorder to remains open.

Anorexia nervosa in a child: what are the causes?

The true causes of the disease have not yet been revealed, however, it is customary to refer to psychogenic factors as violations of upbringing associated with the dominant family role of a tyrannical and tough mother, with the father's subordinate position and his indifference in the upbringing process.

Another syndrome-forming factor is emotional deprivation associated with the coldness of parents towards children. From this point of view, the fundamental refusal to eat is associated with a protest against emotional coldness and a lack of attention from parents.

Because anorexia nervosa is common among girls, it is also thought to be a reaction to the fear of female gender roles that manifest in anxious girls at puberty and is associated with puberty. For this reason, anorexia nervosa is sometimes referred to as personality paranoia associated with the fear of growing up.

Personality characteristics of children with anorexia

One way or another, all girls prone to anorexia nervosa have a relatively similar personality structure.

The dominant features of these children are:

• Closure
• Lack of attraction to the opposite sex
• High feeling long
• Demanding for the environment and yourself
• Abnormal conscientiousness
• Uncompromising
• The desire to become better and self-esteem
• Asceticism in matters of sex

Interesting are such observations that indicate the lack of interest among girls in jewelry and typical outfits.

Moreover, anorexia nervosa is more likely to develop in children with a history of eating disorders at an early age.

In practice, it has been noted that many patients have a history of evidence of childhood disorders of the digestive system. In children, before the onset of the disease, the appetite may increase pathologically.

Complications of anorexia nervosa

The mechanism of psychophysiological disorders in anorexia nervosa is not well understood. Dysfunctions such as endocrine shifts associated with:

• Disruption of the pituitary gland
• adrenal dysfunction
• Ovarian dysfunction

Today, the conditional secondary nature of these disorders associated with starvation or psychosomatic reactions is recognized.

However, evidence of the organic origin of this disorder was also found: with a tumor in the zone of the temporal lobes, anorexia nervosa was formed as a consequence of a real brain disease.

course of anorexia nervosa

The typical picture of anorexia nervosa is almost the same in all cases. Persistent beliefs about the need to lose weight, refusal to eat and rapid weight loss, which is accompanied by a weakening of the gastrointestinal tract.

The picture of anorexia nervosa also includes the increased activity of the sick person, which is not aimed at “fat burning”. According to domestic research, anorexia nervosa goes through four stages in its development:

• initial
• dysmorphomania
• Kakhektia
• Disease reduction

Now let's look at each step in detail.

The initial stage of anorexia nervosa

At this stage, overvalued ideas of being overweight are formed, ideas of attitude appear episodically (“specially fattened”).

Depressive mood prevails. From time to time there are thoughts about the need to lose weight, which leads to a temporary refusal of food or its restriction. Special diets may be made.

This stage can last up to 3 years.

The stage of dysmorphomania in the formation of anorexia nervosa

This is where the first attempts at severe food restriction occur, which often result in a complete refusal to eat.

An external incentive for such actions is mockery of a teenager, random remarks in the family, advice to lose weight. At this stage, high motor activity is expressed, the desire to constantly be on one's feet.

Often adolescents resort to the help of medical substances such as laxatives or initiate vomiting.

The constant feeling of hunger and lack of food is compensated at the level of the psyche: teenagers love to discuss cooking topics, sometimes they cook themselves, feed their relatives, and even begin to be interested in haute cuisine.

The depressive background at this stage may subside, as the diseased achieve a “good shape”, they like the results of losing weight.

in some cases, nervousness and aggressiveness may appear, hysterical reactions to food offers flare up.

Here the first serious disturbances in the work of the body begin to appear, the hormonal background changes.

This stage lasts from 1 to 2 years.

Cachectic stage in anorexia nervosa

At this stage, physical disorders are pronounced. Subcutaneous fat completely disappears, ulcers and bedsores may appear on the body, the shape of the vertebrae changes, patients look stooped. The color of the skin changes, peeling appears.

At the level of the body, the work of the gastrointestinal tract is disrupted, constantly low blood pressure, the heart switches to a bradycardic rhythm. The level of protein and sugar falls, the work of the kidneys is disrupted.

The refusal to eat is preserved, but it is caused not only by the desire to lose weight, but also by the painful sensations associated with eating (the walls of the stomach are thinned).

Attempts to feed the patient do not lead to success, they meet a tough rebuff. It is at this stage of anorexia nervosa that patients are hospitalized in a psychiatric clinic.

According to European data, lethal outcomes are possible, but experience in the clinic shows that death due to exhaustion in anorexia nervosa is extremely rare.

Treatment of anorexia nervosa in children

Treatment for this disease lasts about two years, most of the time is spent in a hospital. There is an increase in body weight, fears about their weight persist, attempts to restrict food may occur, but complete failures no longer occur.

After treatment, patients may have a special attitude to food, overdoing a certain diet, which is not replaced even during pregnancy.

Many patients produce complaints about the work of the gastrointestinal tract, but these complaints are not associated with hypochondria in anorexia nervosa - these are consequences of real disorders from the experienced disease.

After discharge from the clinic, almost all patients show mood swings, excessive irritability, which is clearly manifested in the home environment. With severe treatment, such features as excitability, aggressiveness, tearfulness, explosiveness of character can be sharpened.

Thus, even after the elimination of anorexia nervosa, changes in the patient's personality remain for a long period, which approach borderline disorders.

Treatment of anorexia nervosa

Practice shows that successful treatment of anorexia nervosa can be carried out only as part of the temporary isolation of the patient from relatives and placing him in the clinic. Treatment is carried out in stages.

The first stage lasts about 4 weeks. The patient is assigned strictly bed rest. A blood and urine test is carried out, the sugar content is controlled. When refusing to eat, patients are forced to feed, in extreme cases - with the help of a probe.

Blood substitutes are prescribed, along with food, the patient takes immuno-enhancing drugs, vitamin complexes. Meals are provided in portions, every two hours. At this stage, contact with general practitioners is important to monitor the state of the body.

The second stage takes up to 10 weeks. The rate of nutrition increases, there is a transition to the normal mode. There is already a special treatment, which may include:

• Tranquilizers that increase activity and appetite
• High dose calorie controlled insulin
• Psychotherapy is the most important step in changing the patient's attitudes about his body, weight and life goals. Rational and suggestive therapy is more often prescribed

In severe cases, where anorexia nervosa has pathologically changed the personality of the patient, treatment with antipsychotic substances is carried out, as well as insulin "shock" therapy, followed by abundant feeding.

A psychologist with anorexia is necessary to control the patient's recovery. Also, it is extremely important to establish the state of mind of the child. After discharge from the hospital, it is necessary to conduct psychotherapy sessions, at least once a month.

conclusions

Anorexia nervosa is a protracted disease and its duration (with all stages) is more than 5 years.

It cannot be guaranteed that after the first treatment there will be no relapse with repeated hospitalization.

According to statistics for 2017, relapses occurred in 30% of cases.

Normal weight is gained after treatment for 3-5 years. In 70% there is a complete recovery with normal social adaptation, a critical attitude towards the disease.

In other cases, the disease can become chronic. We can talk about poor prognosis when treatment lasted more than 5 years to no avail.

Anorexia nervosa in children under 9-10 years old differs from the course of a similar disease in adolescents and adults. The child partially or completely refuses to eat not in pursuit of beauty and an ideal figure. The mechanisms of an eating disorder in this case are completely different, and for each age, the causes, symptoms and treatment will be different.

General features

Despite the fact that the disease in a newborn and a child of 10 years old proceeds differently, the child has a number of common features that are characteristic of any age.

Kinds

• Primary (functional-psychogenic, neurotic)

Occurs against the background of a disturbed diet or stress in the presence of good health.

• Secondary (somatogenic)

Unlike adults, children most often suffer from the somatogenic form. Refusal to eat is caused not just by unwillingness or some kind of internal protest, but by a serious illness. Moreover, it can be either a congenital genetic pathology, or an accidentally picked up infection or intoxication. The first thing to do for parents who notice signs of an eating disorder in a child is to undergo a medical examination and find out if he is healthy. As a rule, after the course of treatment of the underlying disease, anorexia also disappears.

The reasons

In accordance with the above classification, the causes of childhood anorexia are divided into 2 large groups.

Somatogenic:

• allergy;
• worms;
• respiratory failure;
• diseases of the oral cavity: thrush, stomatitis;
• intoxication;
• any circulatory problems;
• adrenal insufficiency;
• otitis;
• pathology of the digestive system: ulcer, gastritis, inflammation of the intestine;
• rhinitis;
• sepsis.

Functional-psychogenic:

• numerous snacks between main meals in the form of sweets dull hunger;
• monotonous menu reduces the child's interest in food;
• the lack of a diet leads to the fact that babies do not develop a food reflex, which is formed as a result of feeding by the hour;
• overfeeding;
• strong fear;
• stressful situation.

If the medical examination did not reveal the underlying diseases against which anorexia could develop, you will have to make an appointment with a psychotherapist to identify the causes of a psychogenic nature.

Symptoms

Anorexia in a child is easy to "calculate" by two main signs: refusal to eat and weight loss. Along the way, you can observe:

• symptoms of other diseases, against which anorexia developed;
• nausea and vomiting at the sight of food;
• irritability, whims, deterioration of mood at the table;
• demonstrative behavior during a meal: unnatural laughter, throwing objects (cups and spoons) off the table, incessant conversations, etc.;
• poor condition of teeth and oral cavity: caries, stomatitis;
• lethargy;
• sleep disturbance.

It must be borne in mind that the refusal of a child to eat can be a one-time action and last no more than 3-4 days. Therefore, you do not need to immediately panic and diagnose him. Parents should observe the condition of their child for at least a week in order to draw the right conclusions and seek medical help. This does not apply to situations where the child does not eat anything for several days and loses weight dramatically - this requires immediate medical attention.

Treatment

Treatment of anorexia involves, first of all, the elimination of the factors that provoked its development. Much will depend not so much on the doctors as on the parents. Their task is to create a favorable environment in the family and develop a positive attitude towards food in the child, to form the right eating habits, taking into account the previous mistakes that led to such an unfavorable state of affairs.

Home "psychotherapy"

It is necessary to adhere to a strict feeding regimen. Deviations should not be more than half an hour. Do not give your child sweets between meals.

To improve appetite, half an hour before the main meals, the baby needs to ensure peace so that he does not run, does not play noisy games, but tunes in to the upcoming meal.

While eating, there should be no distractions: you need to remove goodies from the table, turn off the TV and gadgets, remove toys and books from the field of view.

To arouse a child's interest in food, decorate the dish beautifully, brightly, unusually - on the Internet you can find a huge number of ideas on how to do this. And in order not to scare the size of the portion, serve food on a large plate.

In case of refusal, there are children with anorexia, in no case should they be punished - this aggravates their condition. Just patiently wait for the next meal without raising your voice or reproaching. If you have difficulty swallowing or chewing, you can drink food with small sips of water.

Medical treatment

At the advanced stage, parental measures alone are not enough. The patient can be hospitalized and prescribe medication:

• vitamin C;
• vitamins;
• iron;
• tincture of wormwood or valerian, mint;
• hydrochloric acid mixed with pepsin;
• enzymes.

Usually, the child's body copes with diseases more easily. Anorexia is so insidious that everything is exactly the opposite: the younger the child is, the harder it will be.

In newborns (up to a year)

The most difficult thing is to determine anorexia in young children, because they can cry and refuse food under the influence of a variety of factors.

The reasons

Psychogenic:

• insufficient fat content of breast milk;
• inappropriate mixture;
• incorrect introduction of the first complementary foods;
• congenital pathologies.

Somatogenic:

• bilirubin encephalopathy;
• congenital defects of the oral cavity (prognathism, cleft palate, cleft lip);
• hemolytic disease of the newborn;
• defects in the development of the central nervous system;
• hereditary diseases of amino acid metabolism (hypermethioninemia, maple syrup disease, tyrosinemia);
• prematurity;
• general immaturity of the body;
• weakening of sucking and swallowing reflexes;
• birth or traumatic brain injury.

Symptoms

The most obvious signs of anorexia in children under 1 year old are easy to notice with the naked eye, because newborns cannot hide their disgust for food.

What parents should pay attention to:

• the baby whimpers, is naughty, spins when it's time to eat - this is how he expresses his displeasure with this process (such anorexia is called dysthymic);
• the regurgitation reflex is triggered in the absence of background digestive diseases (the so-called regurgitation anorexia);
• the newborn does not take the breast, turns away;
• greedily grabs a breast or a pacifier, but then spits it out and begins to cry.

At the first sign of an eating disorder, you should immediately inform your pediatrician.

Treatment

Infantile anorexia is treated successfully only in one case - if its cause is precisely established. If this is another disease, it is detected and urgently treated (or at least the symptoms are eliminated and the condition is alleviated if the pathology is chronic or genetic). If this is related to feeding, you will have to change the mode of eating or the food itself (buy a different mixture, for example, or start complementary foods not with rice porridge, but with buckwheat).

Newborn children suffering from anorexia require vigilant parental attention and urgent action to eliminate its causes. After all, their main task at the age of up to 1 year is the growth and formation of internal organs and systems, and with such a diagnosis, full development is impossible.

Toddlers (1-3 years old)

1-3 years - a real breakthrough in the development of the child: he learns to walk, talk and live in society. Anorexia at this age is rarely due to congenital malformations, since they are detected mainly in the first year of life. Psychological factors also do not work in most cases, since children still do not understand the same divorce of parents or the death of one of the family members. Here, completely different mechanisms enter the scene.

The reasons

The main reason is force-feeding food that is healthy from the point of view of parents. A 2-year-old child cannot understand the lectures of adults about the need for food, so forced meals turn into a real torture for him, which he wants to avoid by any means. As a result, food causes a negative reflex in him. In advanced situations, vomiting begins from the mere appearance of soup or porridge.

Symptoms

Active refusal to eat: fighting, throwing everything from the table to the floor, spitting out food, pursing his lips tightly, not allowing himself to be fed.

Passive refusal: does not eat adult food when switching from breastfeeding to normal, categorically does not accept cereals, vegetables, meat; at the same time, he chooses strange methods of protest - he suddenly starts eating lemons or takes a mouthful of water.

Treatment

Since in most cases anorexia in children aged 1-3 years is dictated by improperly formed eating habits, parents have a long and painstaking work on their own mistakes. You will have to step by step, patiently instill them in your baby. Medical treatment is rarely prescribed at this age.

Preschoolers (4-7 years old)

Often anorexia is diagnosed in preschool children, since at the age of 5-6 the psyche is already more or less formed, the child has adapted in society, begins to understand a lot in relationships between people. And here already any transferred stress can cause an eating disorder.

The reasons

These may be:

• conflicts with someone from the environment (neighbor-peer, brother or sister, stepfather);
• unfavorable situation in the family;
• visiting a kindergarten where relationships with other children or a teacher do not add up;
• divorce of parents;
• severe fright (the dog attacked, fell from a height, etc.);
• the death of a family member;
• fear of school
• physical or sexual abuse.

Symptoms

Along with food refusal and weight loss, preschoolers may experience:

• insomnia;
• hyperexcitability or, conversely, lethargy;
• dizziness;
• isolation, the development of acquired autism;
• constipation;
• skin itching;
• urinary incontinence.

Treatment

Treatment is carried out within the framework of psychotherapy. Commonly prescribed pediatric sedatives are:

• soothing pharmacy teas: Calm down, Baio-bye, Evening tale;
• weakly brewed infusions for the night: lime blossom, mint, lemon balm, valerian, lavender, motherwort;
• Persen is a completely herbal preparation;
• Citral - more powerful, contains magnesium sulfate and sodium bromide;
• Glycine;
• Magne B-6 - mineral-vitamin complex;
• potent tranquilizers (Sibazon, Phenazepam, Elenium) are prescribed to correct a pronounced disorder exclusively by prescription and under the supervision of a doctor.

Children suffering from anorexia, first of all, must feel that they are loved. Usually, family therapy courses are prescribed for treatment, where both parents are invited. The recovery of a preschooler depends only on them.

In elementary school children (8-10 years old)

Anorexia in school-age children is borderline. It is very similar to the course of the disease in preschool children, but at the same time, features appear that resemble an eating disorder in adolescents. At this stage, gender differences are already beginning to appear. There are much fewer sick boys here - but girls of 9-10 years old get to the doctors much more often.

The reasons

In girls 9-10 years old, its development is associated with early menstruation and socialization. If boys at this age are only interested in toys, little fashionistas mature much earlier. They want to be like their mother, aunt, sister or famous actress. They still don’t fully understand the meaning of all these diets, but they grasp the basic principle: to be beautiful and slim, you need to eat little (or not eat at all). This is a very common reason for not eating at this age.

The second trigger is stress. The child is more and more socialized, which is associated with the first years of schooling. Conflicts with classmates, a new daily routine, eating in the canteen, rejection of the first teacher - all this can lead to an eating disorder.

According to statistics, it is at the age of 8-10 that 35% of children experience a divorce of their parents, and this is one of the most common causes of the development of the disease.

Symptoms

From the side of symptoms, children of 8-10 years old differ from other age groups in that they already know how to hide experiences. They will not defiantly push the plate away and throw everything off the table screaming and crying. They will simply avoid meals: either they have to do their homework, or they need to leave urgently, or something else. Girls begin to become intensely interested in the life of models and diets. Parents should see all this in a timely manner and try to correct it.

Treatment

Getting rid of an eating disorder at 8-10 years old only at home will no longer work. If the reasons are psychogenic in nature, it is no longer possible to do without a psychotherapist. The only thing that depends on the parents is the creation of a favorable atmosphere at home, unobtrusive conversations, care and attention. Of the medicinal sedatives, Pantogam, Magnesium-6, Senason-lek, children's Tenoten, etc. can be prescribed.

In modern society, the opinion that anorexia is a disease of adolescents is firmly entrenched, while children begin to suffer from it at a much earlier age. If parents are aware of this, they will be able to respond correctly to the first signs of the disorder and take timely measures so that it does not come to dystrophy and other irreversible complications.

It is generally accepted that anorexia is a disease of adolescents and adults striving for certain standards of beauty. However, children can also suffer from anorexia. Causes and symptoms in children differ from the world of adults and are most often based on improper organization of the child's nutrition.

Anorexia nervosa in children is not such a rare disease. According to statistics, a third of preschoolers have some form of eating disorder.

More G.N. Speransky, the "chief children's doctor" of the USSR, noticed in the first half of the last century that a child's complaint of poor appetite is one of the most common complaints among parents. Since then, little has changed.

Childhood anorexia is different from adolescent anorexia and is not associated with the pursuit of model standards. Provoked by physiological, mental or nervous disorders, this disease is most often the result of infantilism or neuroses.

Symptoms of anorexia, partial or complete refusal to eat, can be shown even by infants. Babies who do not want to eat according to the schedule of their parents, when reinforcing this new skill, also fall into the category of anorexic children.

Anorexia: types and symptoms of the disease in children

There are two types of anorexia in children:

• primary - occurs in a healthy child as a result of a violation of the diet;
• secondary, caused by diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and other systems and organs.

Symptoms in children appear even in infancy. There are different forms of manifestation:

• dysthymic form: children show discontent when eating, get upset, act up;
• the passive form of refusal to eat is also accompanied by whims, children can take a mouthful of food and not swallow, prefer unusual foods such as citrus fruits, raw onions to new types of complementary foods;
• the form of active refusal is accompanied by turning away from the chest, protesting at the sight of the bottle. Older kids can over and over again throw off plates and cups on the floor, not agreeing to swallow a single piece;
• in the regurgitation form, after eating, the regurgitation reflex is triggered, while there are no symptoms of gastrointestinal disease.

It must be remembered that a child with illness, fatigue, overexcitation and stress can also refuse to eat, but this is a temporary phenomenon that disappears with the departure of the main cause.

The main factors contributing to the onset of symptoms in children are:

• non-compliance with the diet. In families where children eat outside the schedule (plus or minus 30 minutes to the established meal time), the formation of the food reflex is disrupted;
• the habit of snacking, especially consisting of fast carbohydrates (sweets, muffins, juices, carbonated drinks). Such “recharges” of the body reduce the excitability of the food center and suppress appetite;
• menu monotony. Often, parents choose several meals for the whole family or prefer only dairy products in the child's diet, which leads to reluctance to eat;
• overfeeding, force feeding, entertainment during meals (cartoons, fairy tales, games) lead to negative results and symptoms of anorexia in children.

The latter factor is the most common cause of anorexia nervosa in childhood. In families where children are traditionally fed according to the precepts of the “clean plate society”, where several overprotective adults are responsible for food and temporary refusal of food is considered a tragedy, children are most susceptible to this disease.

Preschoolers who have developed a negative attitude towards food due to the wrong attitude of their parents to food can both refuse food and imperceptibly induce vomiting. In these cases, parents begin to sound the alarm only after noticeable weight loss, the onset of signs of starvation and the deterioration of the child's condition.

In the treatment of anorexia nervosa, therapy and doctor's conversations with all family members involved in the process of feeding the baby are necessary.

Both prevention and treatment of manifestations of anorexia are based on the restoration of proper eating behavior. To do this, the primary goal is to rule out the cause of symptoms in children (physiological or psychological). Further, the process of organizing proper nutrition of the child must go through three stages of correction.

The first is the preparatory stage, at which the diet is reduced by ½ - 1/3, depending on the age and condition of the body. It is necessary to reduce the content of fats and carbohydrates in the diet.

All food is offered in 2-3 doses per day, without repetition, persuasion and punishment. Snacks between meals are strictly excluded, including tea, sweets, juices. For children older than a year without problems with the gastrointestinal tract, it is recommended to offer a small amount of pickles, marinades, and seasonings that stimulate appetite before meals.

The second stage is carried out in order to restore the appetite and form the correct eating habits of the child. The amount of fats and proteins in the diet is brought to normal, the volume of food corresponds to age-related needs. Fast carbohydrates and snacks are still limited.

The final stage is designed to consolidate the result. The child's appetite and nutrition are adjusted, the amount of food is normal, and previously prohibited foods can be gradually returned. However, it is worth remembering that without consolidating success, the symptoms of the disease may return. Therefore, when organizing meals for a child, observe the following rules:

• feeding regimen. Deviations are rare and within half an hour;
• no snacking between meals. All sweets, fruits and juices - only immediately after meals;
• child nutrition is a process that is not related to entertainment. Remove toys, books, tablet from the table, turn off the TV;
• if the child is passionate about the game, call him to the table in advance to give him the opportunity to focus on the process of eating;
• never punish or reproach for refusing to eat, and never reward for a clean plate. I didn’t finish it, so we’ll wait until dinner;
• decorate dishes for kids, use bright large plates.

Children do not respond to lectures about healthy and tasty food. Parents often need to make an effort to regulate the feeding process. A child’s nutrition can become interesting (and useful) for him not because of the cartoons at the table, but thanks to your imagination and desire to please your son or daughter with tasty and healthy food.

The term "anorexia" refers to a mental illness characterized by a reduction in food intake and quantity in order to reduce weight. Prolonged dietary restrictions cause an appetite disorder, which leads to problems with both the gastrointestinal tract and the overall functionality of the body.

Anorexia in children is even more dangerous, as it inhibits the physical and mental development of the child. If a person has symptoms similar to this disease, you should immediately contact a psychotherapist who will diagnose and prescribe effective treatment.

Anorexia in childhood, by cause and effect, has nothing to do with anorexia in adolescents, in whom the disease develops on the basis of blind imitation and following fashion trends. Often, their illness appears due to an extreme degree of dissatisfaction with their body, which is formed on the basis of other people's statements and opinions. Children's anorexia is a consequence of mental deviations of the child, mental disorders in the body.

Classification

Anorexia nervosa in schoolchildren 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 distinguished, associated with the corresponding symptoms of the disease:

1. Monothematic dysmorphia (the predominance of obsession with extra pounds).
2. Bulimia (spontaneous eating in large quantities, uncontrolled overeating).
3. Vomitomania (attempts to get rid of food eaten by inducing vomiting and diarrhea).

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

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

The reasons

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:

• An unhealthy interest in various ways to lose weight.
• Hatred towards one's appearance, body, figure.
• Fixation on changing one's appearance through various diets and heavy physical exertion.
• A radical change in opinion about health, attractiveness and beauty.
• Imitation of the lifestyle of famous actresses, singers, film characters, famous for their thin physique.

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

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

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

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 contributing diseases are:

1. A negative attitude towards one's own body, as a result of which the teenager strives for unhealthy weight loss.
2. The influence of fashion trends regarding the shape of the warehouse.
3. Heredity.
4. Frequent stress.
5. Having mental health problems.

Symptoms of anorexia in children

Since in adolescence there are significant qualitative changes in the body, then, accordingly, the appearance of a person is not always transformed for the better.

But children obsessed with keeping their bodies in perfect condition do not want to understand that their attempts to make significant adjustments to their attractiveness have a completely opposite, negative effect on the state of the whole organism as a whole.

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

Changes in the appearance of the child begin to appear. He is rapidly losing weight, but does not notice this in pursuit of ideals. Also, frequent pains in the stomach, constant weakness and irritability do not become an obstacle to him.

Manifestations of symptoms over time are expressed more and more along with the desire of the child to find the figure of his dreams.

Up to a year

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

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

1. Dysthymic (the baby is naughty, cries and in every possible way shows discontent when trying to feed).
2. Regurgitation (during eating, the baby often spits up for no reason; no pathologies are found during examination of the gastrointestinal tract).
3. Active refusal to eat. The baby refuses mother's milk, turns away. A child under the age of one year in every possible way shows an unwillingness to eat. When trying to force him to swallow food, he spits it out or presses his lips tightly, not giving the slightest chance of feeding.
4. Passive rejection. The baby shows a reluctance to eat the food necessary for the growth and development of his body. Usually cereals, meat, vegetables fall into this section. Unusual products (for example, lemon) are in priority. Fills mouth with food, but does not want to swallow it.

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

preschool age

In babies 1-3 years old, the formation of the psyche occurs, so any destructive relationships in the surrounding society can lead to the development of anorexia in him.

The most common reasons are:

1. Conflicts within the family and peers.
2. Divorce of parents.
3. The death of a loved one.
4. Feelings about the upcoming transition from kindergarten to school.
5. 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:

1. Anxious dream.
2. Increased excitability or weakness.
3. Closure.
4. Chair problems.
5. Vomiting after eating.
6. A long break between meals, during which the child does not have an appetite.

school age

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

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

The main methods of large-scale weight loss are:

1. Partial or complete refusal of meals.
2. Special induction of the gag reflex.
3. Taking laxatives.
4. Frequent and long workouts.

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

Diagnostics

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

There are some of the most common and effective ways to detect anorexia in a child:

1. Individual conversation. Through ordinary communication and leading questions, the doctor reveals a person's tendency to diet, to lose weight and to exercise excessively. After a short oral test, the specialist interviews the parents, asking them when the first symptoms appeared, the number of kilograms dropped by the child over the past 30 days, behavioral changes and their nature.
2. Questionnaires. Various tests will also help identify certain disorders in the psyche. In this case, the most commonly used rating scale is eating behavior and a survey on cognitive responses to this disease. Additional help in recognizing the disease can be tests for the study of the emotional sphere, self-esteem, and personal characteristics.
3. Projective tests. The meaning of this method is to identify the teenager's attempts to hide self-hatred, the desire to lose weight. To do this, the child is invited to take Luscher's tests, "Self-portrait".

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

Such measures will help to make sure that the patient has anorexia nervosa.

Treatment

Treatment of children from anorexia involves working in two directions: the restoration of the gastrointestinal tract, followed by weight gain and instilling a correct and healthy attitude to food.

In the first case, classical methods of dealing with the disease are used. This includes five to six meals a day, adherence to sleep. The use of medications to get rid of vomiting, diarrhea and constipation is also necessary.

At the second stage, doctors adhere to the following sequence: first, psychotherapy, then psychological deviations are treated.

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

The main components of treatment:

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It implies work with a psychotherapist, which lasts at least four months. It includes the correction of unhealthy ideas, training is provided to control 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 basic diet, which should include those foods that he previously excluded. The child starts a personal diary where he writes down his thoughts, experiences, trying to transform them in a positive way.
2. Family psychotherapy. The clinic holds special sessions where family problems that provoke the development of anorexia in a child are discussed. Parents should be told what not to say or do to a teenager so as not to hurt his feelings and not provoke a relapse. The mother and father have an obligation to contribute as much as possible to maintaining a positive atmosphere within the family in order to obtain good treatment results.
3. 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.

Prevention

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

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

Anorexia is a partial or complete refusal to eat, provoked by physiological, psychological and nervous disorders. Anorexia nervosa in children is completely different from a similar disease that teenagers reward themselves in pursuit of a slim figure. Childhood eating disorder is not associated with ideas of beauty, being rather a sign of infantility and neurosis.

Distinguish:

• Primary anorexia - signs occur in a physically healthy child due to a violation of the diet.
• Secondary - provoked by disturbances in the digestive and other systems.

The main reasons for the development of primary anorexia:

• Non-compliance with the diet. The development of the food reflex in children is carried out only when feeding “by the hour”.
• "Interruption" of appetite. It is easy to dull hunger and reduce the excitability of the digestive system by eating sweets between meals.
• Uniformity on the menu. Interest in monotonous food is lost - exclusively dairy food, very fatty, carbohydrate foods.
• Overfeeding. Perhaps the baby just does not have time to get hungry.

However, more often at an early age, children are more likely to develop symptoms of anorexia nervosa provoked by force-feeding.

• Interesting to read:

Certain reasons cause a child to refuse food. But the stereotypes of parents that “good kids eat well” provoke unpleasant situations when they start pushing “tasty and healthy” dishes into the baby 4-5 times a day.

Indeed, with this approach, realizing that now they will “feed”, the children are nervous - what an appetite!

And if the parents have their own goals, and there is no desire to pay attention to the needs of the child, the result of forced feeding is developmental problems, as well as rapid weight loss - symptoms of anorexia.

Children quickly consolidate behavioral stereotypes. It is difficult for them to understand their parents' lectures on the usefulness of nutrition, so forced meals turn into a punishment, a torture that must be avoided. The process of eating causes a negative reflex. The most terrible situation is when vomiting begins from one type of food.

Symptoms and signs

Pay attention to the symptoms, they will help determine the degree of manifestation of anorexia nervosa in your child.

Up to a year

In children under the age of one year, signs of anorexia are easy to notice. Toddlers make no secret of their disgust for food they don't want to eat.

• Dysthymic - general signs of displeasure with the process of eating appear, the baby is naughty, whimpering.
• Regurgitation - while eating for no reason, the regurgitation reflex is triggered, but there are no symptoms of gastrointestinal diseases.
• Active refusal to eat - the baby does not want to take the breast, turns away. A child under one year old does not want to eat on his own, as if he accidentally drops appliances, food on the floor. It is also impossible to feed him - he tries to spit out food, compresses his lips, not allowing him to put a single piece into his mouth.
• Passive refusal - there are symptoms of rejection of normal adult food - meat, vegetables, cereals. The kid is picky, prefers unusual food - lemons, for example. Does not want to chew, fills his mouth with food, but does not swallow.

Indeed, sometimes refusing to eat causes anxiety. However, before dramatizing finding signs of primary anorexia, parents should take into account the usual change in taste preferences and appetite in children of different ages.

preschool age

Preschool children can also suffer from anorexia. At first they look quite normal, parents rarely notice changes in the first stages of the disease. Gradually, signs of malnutrition begin to appear:

• dizzy;
• itchy skin;
• suffering from constipation.

Suddenly it turns out that the child has been artificially inducing vomiting for a long time at home, in kindergarten. He is constantly hungry, but for some reason he cannot eat. Anorexia can be suspected when the baby begins to refuse even sweets. At this age, refusal to eat occurs due to psychological trauma, for example, the divorce of parents.

school age

Anorexia nervosa in adolescent schoolchildren (mostly girls) is more often formed by modern “values” that are widely promoted by television and advertising: model appearance, diet, fashion.

Teenage maximalism makes you choose painful methods for correcting your figure:

• complete refusal to eat;
• artificial induction of vomiting;
• the use of a laxative;
• from exercise.

He does everything to spend more energy, prefers to stand while doing any action, preparing lessons, reading while standing. Such methods really make you lose weight, but too quickly and with a huge weight loss.

In school-age children with anorexia, persistent symptoms of a violation of the food reflex are observed. Sometimes the strength of the negative reflex is so powerful that, even after treatment, the child does not feel appetite, and eating causes the urge to vomit.

Treatment

To cure anorexia nervosa in children and adolescents, you need to eliminate the reasons for refusing to eat, and then gradually normalize the diet. Effective nutritional interventions consist of three steps:

• Preparatory. The child is given food that is useful for the body, reducing the volume by a third of the norm for his age. Eat should be given 1-2 times, exclude fatty and carbohydrate foods, sweets. Children from one year old should include appetite-stimulating food in the diet: pickles, marinades (tomatoes, cucumbers), salads, dishes containing garlic, onions, herring. When the appetite improves, the treatment moves on to the next stage.
• Restorative. Now patients with anorexia should receive a normal amount of food. You can eat proteins, as well as a little vegetable and animal fats - half the norm.
• Final. Appetite is restored, the regime is established. Treatment will give results, but the effect needs to be consolidated. Feed a normal amount of food, gradually remove restrictions on previously prohibited ingredients, with the exception of fats. They can be used in cooking, but not used as independent dishes (sour cream, butter, etc.).

Food

Proper nutrition for anorexia requires the following recommendations:

• Set a feeding schedule and stick to it. Do not allow deviations for more than 30 minutes.
• Between meals, do not feed, especially sweets.
• If the child has played too much, call him to eat half an hour earlier so that the body rests and the appetite is restored.
• When he eats, remove all distractions: dessert off the table, turn off the TV. This is how food concentration is developed.
• Decorate children's food with bright decorations, use greens, vegetables. Bright, interesting food is more appetizing than colorless food.
• To make the portion seem small, serve it in a large plate - this will create the illusion of a small volume.
• If he refused to eat again, do not force, do not punish, do not encourage. Just wait for the next hour to eat.
• If there are difficulties in chewing and swallowing, allow food to be washed down with water, little by little in small sips.

Anorexia nervosa in children develops more actively if the disease is complicated by a neuro-arthritic anomaly, due to metabolic disorders and sensitivity of the nervous system. Therefore, patients who have this anomaly are limited in the use of meat, eggs, cocoa products, coffee.

Remember: in order for fats and proteins to be well absorbed, give them to children before lunch, milk and carbohydrates after. If these are carbohydrates that are easily digested, they can be eaten immediately after meals. Also try to organize feeding efficiently.

Preparations

With anorexia nervosa, it is quite enough to normalize the regimen, eliminate stimuli that lead the central nervous system into a state of anxiety and overexcitation. Treatment with drugs is rarely used, more often medicine turns to psychotherapists for help in order to convince children of the inappropriateness of a hunger strike.

• Interesting to read:

If there is a sharp weight loss, and the negative reflex increases, treatment is best done in a hospital.

Here, patients will receive parenteral nutrition. Drug treatment is carried out using hydrochloric acid mixed with pepsin, ascorbic acid, wormwood tincture. They will also prescribe to take enzymes, vitamins, iron.

Prevention

The best prevention of anorexia is to educate parents on the right attitude to feeding children and practice proper nutrition techniques. Parents need to understand that the tastes of their babies are not innate and unchanging, but are brought up by gradually introducing new dishes into the diet. And the main incentive for parents will be video facts confirming how difficult the treatment and restoration of lost weight is: