Children's anorexia, what is it and why it occurs

Children's anorexia is a reality. When we talk about anorexia, the images that come to mind are usually teenagers who do not want to gain. We imagine people causing vomiting and with an extremely thin body. In the case of adolescent, some causes that can lead to this problem is to have an "ideal" body. Pressing by a society that imposes not always realistic canons, they try to achieve an "optimal" physical state and, as a result, they are obsessed with their alleged fatness. But, What happens to children? Infants are not subject to certain beauty ideals, so what can be due?

It is important to know that Children's anorexia is a complex topic, since you can go from newborns to children from a few years old. It is a diffuse problem since in general in anorexia we usually attribute voluntary behavior to whom it suffers it. However, In such young children, how is it possible that anorexia occurs? Anorexia is usually related to the fear of a weight gain of distorting the ideal body, but in babies of just a few months this type of motivations does not seem very feasible. Therefore, it is important to take into account a factor that many will know and many others do not Medro failure. Let's deepen!

Content

• Normal growth and medro failure (FDM)
• Children's anorexia
  • Kreisler psychosomatic classification
    • Primary anorexias
    • Early common anorexia
    • Complex mental anorexia of early childhood
  • Psycho-evolutive classification of Chator
    • Regulation disorders (homeostasis)
    • LINK ALTERATION DISORDERS
    • Children's anorexia
• Children's anorexia as a different entity
  • References

Normal growth and Medro failure (FDM)

There is a term that is important to take into account: Medro failure. Before defining it, it is important, to talk about what normal growth is. So, the normal growth It is defined by the progressive increase in weight and size that is based on a standard model established for age. That is, if there are no difficulties or deviations in the weight and stature of the child, there is talk of normal growth. On the other hand, we find the Medro failure, and this is when we can begin to consider that there may be a problem.

The concept "Medro failure" (FDM) refers to all those under 3 years with difficulties in following the planned growth rate over time. These difficulties could be a delay in the achievement of both normal social and neurological achievements. As will be seen below, the term medro and childhood anorexia failure could be used as synonyms on many occasions, since they refer to the lack of food intake by the infant that can cause the lack of growth rate. Even so, pediatrician Sara Bueno specifies the Three reasons why the medro failure can occur:

1. Insufficient food intake. Represents 80% of the cases. They are the disorders in which an inability to intake food is appreciated because of a chronic disease that studies with anorexia. They can be found, for example, neurological disorders or chromosomopathies that lead to swallowing difficulties.
2. Curse or bad nutrient absorption. They can occur in diseases such as celiac or cystic fibrosis, as well as in metabolopathies, food joys or intestinal inflammatory diseases.
3. Increased energy needs. They can be observed in congenital heart disease, hyperthyroidism, metabolic disorders, oncological or lung diseases.

Children's anorexia

Ana Isabel Rayo's team (2007), collects several types of child anorexia classifications, among which the psychosomatic classification of Kreisler and the Psycho-evolution of Chator.

Kreisler psychosomatic classification

Primary anorexias

Among the primary anorexias, anorexia stands out in the first days or weeks of life and active neonatal anorexia. The anorexia of the first days is rare. The authors point out that it may be due to childbirth factors such as maternal anesthesia and its extension over time could be due to an anxious parenting that does not interpret the baby's signs well and it is about forcing its diet. For its part, in the Active neonatal anorexia, An apparent lack of will of the child for food intake is appreciated when it is still very small. Your prognosis is severe.

Early common anorexia

This related to the introduction of new foods and promoted by changes in the daily life of the child. It may be due to some common baby disease, teeth outlet, etc. When the child rejects food, it is important not to force him to eat by force since he could have consequences such as the most durable rejection of food or the person who feeds him. One of the recommendations in these cases are to offer instructions to parents to lower their level of anxiety and reorient the situation.

Complex mental anorexia of early childhood

Is about Anorexias related to possible mental disorders that can be expressed in the infant, highlight the phobic form, the form linked to psychosis and the depressive form.

Psycho-evolutive classification of Chator

Regulation disorders (homeostasis)

The beginning of this type of anorexia according to the Psycho-Evolutive classification of Chatoor has its starting point between the 0-3 months of life. Is manifested in the form of Difficulty establishing regular shots. Children are usually irritable and quite difficult to calm. Parents are anxious, even depressive and do not understand the situation and because of this they respond badly to the baby's needs.

LINK ALTERATION DISORDERS

It starts between 3 and 8 months of life. It usually occurs by an insecure bond between the child and parents. These show chaotic responses that interfere in a correct interaction between peers and children.

Children's anorexia

It would start between 6 months and 3 years old. This is a period in which the child begins to enjoy some autonomy to feed for himself, that is, without external help. Chator points out that this type of anorexia It can be due to a bad relationship between the mother-father and the son. This relationship would be affected, above all, if the child is of difficult temperament and parents have certain characteristics that make it difficult to understand the infant.

Children's anorexia as a different entity

Eva Rivas (2005) states that "for these patients their universe is only the attachment figures so the social ideals of fashion and thinness are not yet internalized". With "these patients" refers to children and with "attachment figures" to their parents. That is to say, Children have as references their parents, thus, they are exempt from following fashions in which thinness is instilled. This fact is what can lead to considering childhood anorexia as a different entity to adolescent anorexia. Thus, as seen throughout the article, childhood anorexia and adolescent anorexia, despite sharing the concept "anorexia", they study with different causes.

In this article it has been possible to investigate a complex type of anorexia to define and, above all, to establish the origin and causes. Some of the most outstanding data have been collected, even so, the investigation is still underway.

References

• Ray, a., Ferrer, c., Moreno, J., Urruzuno, p., Neighborhood, J and Salcedo, E, ... Pérez, B. (2007). Children's anorexia. Medro failure. Joint action guides Primary-specialized pediatrics. 
• Rivas, e. (2007). Children's anorexia. The etiological hypothesis. Magazine of the Spanish Association of Neuropsychiatry, 94.