Eating Disorders in Infants and Toddlers

Adequate feeding represents an important function of regulation during childhood. Early, transient feeding problems are common among normally developing infants. Paediatricians and child neuropsychiatrists should recognize enduring feeding difficulties, since they cause negative effects on children’s growth and development. Feeding disorders (FD) might be the result of a lack of balance among parents’ feeding style, organic causes and child behaviour. FD present a clinical spectrum from mild to severe. Among FD, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) represents a newly introduced diagnosis in the DSM-5. Patients with ARFID present restrictive eating behaviour, persistent difficulty in meeting nutritional needs, in the absence of body image disturbances. FD, as selective or scarce feeding, may represent a warning early sign suggesting an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children with ASD are five times more likely to manifest FD than their peers. The management of children with FD requires collaborative care of a multi-professional team. At the present time, behavioural therapy is the mainly supported treatment for FD in childhood.