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  1. Dasha Nicholls,
  2. Russell Viner

    Introduction

    Adolescence is a time of enormous change in weight and eating. Average weight gain during puberty is 14 kg for girls and 15 kg for boys, with marked differences in body shape between the sexes becoming evident. About 40% of girls (25% of boys) begin dieting in adolescence. Reported dieting may often reflect dissatisfaction with their body rather than actual calorie restriction. Six to 12 per cent of adolescents choose to become vegetarian, giving them increased independence from family eating patterns.

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    Prevalence of eating behaviours and eating problems in adolescence in United Kingdom

    Eating disorders, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa, are characterised by morbid preoccupation with weight and shape and manifest through distorted or chaotic eating behaviour. This behaviour differentiates these disorders from other types of psychological problems associated with abnormal eating behaviour—such as extreme faddy (selective) eating and various types of food phobia—and from obesity, in which primary psychological mechanisms are rarely implicated or are part of a more complex picture.

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    Risk factors for developing eating disorder in adolescence

    Eating disorders

    Studies have found anorexia nervosa to be the third commonest chronic illness of adolescence, affecting 0.5% of adolescent girls. Bulimia nervosa is slightly more common (1%), but the secretive nature of the disorder and adolescents' reluctance to seek help mean that it is often hidden.

    Eating disorders occur in all ethnic groups, and about 90% of cases are in females. Social, psychological (perception of ideal body weight and individual temperament), and genetic mechanisms all contribute to the development of an eating disorder.

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    Differentiation of anorexia from bulimia

    Recognition

    The diagnosis of eating disorders in adolescents should take into consideration the context of normal pubertal growth and adolescent development. Although the problem may present as a result of other people's concern, assessment of the young person on their own is necessary to …

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