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Anorexia is an eating disorder that can cause severe weight loss. It’s not only experienced by adults, but anorexia may also occur in children.
If experienced by adults, anorexia sufferers usually feel obsessive about their weight. The person will be busy regulating the calorie intake that enters their body. What about anorexia in children?
Recognizing anorexia in children
Reporting from Stanford Children’s Health, it turns out that children and teenagers who experience anorexia also have wrong judgments about their bodies. They feel like they are overweight, which ultimately makes them limit their food.
The behavior can get worse and lead to other things that they think will stop weight gain. However, not everyone experiences this. Therefore, anorexia is divided into two types, namely:
1. Anorexia that restricts food
What this means is that children with this type of anorexia will greatly limit what they eat. They will very carefully count the calories that enter the body. Not infrequently they eliminate fatty and high-carbohydrate foods.
2. Anoreksia bulimik
If you experience this type of anorexia, children who experience it may appear to still be eating normally. However, after eating, they do things that they think will prevent the food from being digested by the body.
They will vomit food that has entered the body. Apart from that, they will force themselves in any way to get food out again. In fact, some people also use large amounts of laxatives with the aim of removing everything in their stomach.
What causes anorexia in children?
It is not known for certain what causes anorexia in children. However, it often starts with a regular diet. Then it turned into an extreme desire to lose weight.
Several other factors that may cause anorexia include:
- Social attitudes towards body appearance
- Family influence
- Genetics
- Brain chemical imbalance
- Developmental problems
Children with anorexia tend to come from families with a history of:
- Having problem with weight
- Physical illness
- Mental health problems such as depression or substance abuse disorders
Symptoms of anorexia in children?
Not all children show the same symptoms, but the following are common symptoms that may appear, namely:
- Have low body weight
- Fear of getting fat, even though you have lost weight
- Having distorted views about body weight, size, or shape. For example, children see their own bodies as too fat, even though in fact they already look thin
- Do not accept even though you already have a normal weight
- In girls, it is possible to miss 3 menstrual periods
- Forcing yourself to do lots of physical activity will help you lose weight
- Ignore hunger
- Obsessed with making food
- Has strange eating behavior
- Socially withdrawn, irritated, moody, or depressed
Apart from that, here are some physical symptoms related to anorexia that arise due to hunger and malnutrition, including:
- Very dry skin
- Loss of fluids (dehydration)
- Stomach ache
- Constipation
- Sluggish
- Dizzy
- Extreme fatigue
- Sensitivity to cold temperatures
- Become very thin
- Growth of fine hair on the body
- Yellow skin
These symptoms can look like symptoms of other diseases. If this happens to a child, Moms should see a doctor to get the right diagnosis.
Who is more at risk of experiencing this condition?
Most anorexia in children is experienced by women. However, it is not impossible for boys to experience it too. Apart from that, previously this condition was often found in middle and upper class families. However, it is now found in various socioeconomic groups, in many races and ethnicities.
Are there any complications that might occur?
Anorexia can cause malnutrition, if not treated it can harm almost all organ systems in the body. It can be fatal and cause various diseases. These diseases include:
- Heart disease. Anorexia can cause heart damage due to malnutrition, due to which the child may have a slow, faster or irregular heartbeat. The child may also have low blood pressure.
- Blood deficiency. One in 3 children with anorexia experiences mild anemia. Meanwhile, half of children with anorexia have a low white blood cell count.
- Gastrointestinal problems. Very limited food will slow down bowel movements, fortunately this condition can be treated with several medications and you can return to eating normally.
- Kidney illness. Anorexia can cause dehydration, and this can affect kidney health.
- Endocrine system. Anorexia in girls can cause late menstruation and affect growth hormones in teenagers.
- Bone health. The risk of bone fractures is higher in children with anorexia. If it occurs before peak bone formation, which usually lasts until late adolescence, there is a risk of bone tissue degradation or bone loss.
How to treat it?
Treatment for anorexia in children depends on the symptoms, age and health condition. However, in general, treatment can be a mixture of therapies such as:
- Individual therapy
- Family therapy
- Coaching behavior change
- Nutritional rehabilitation
- Antidepressant medication if the child experiences depression
Reporting from WebMd, anorexia, however, is an eating disorder. Therefore, treat it also by eating. Like the experience of a child with anorexia named Megan, who was treated with food.
“We told Megan’s parents that their child was sick,” said Patricia T. Siegel, PhD, a child psychologist at Children’s Hospital in Detroit. Then the doctor asked Megan’s parents to give her medicine, in this case the medicine was food.
In treating anorexia in children, cooperation between parents and doctors or therapists is needed. It is agreed by Ivan Eisler, PhD, psychologist from the University of London, that parents are the best friends for therapists treating anorexia in children.
If you feel that your child has an eating disorder, you should immediately contact a doctor. Ask a doctor for help before the condition gets worse.
This is information about anorexia in children. If you have further questions, consult about your and your family’s health problems through Good Doctor, a 24/7 service. Our doctor partners are ready to provide solutions. Come on, download the Good Doctor application here!