A guide to the community management of paediatric eating disorders.

Abstract

Eating disorders (EDs) are a group of serious, potentially life-threatening illnesses that typically have their onset during adolescence and can be associated with severe medical and psychosocial complications. The impact of EDs on caregivers and other family members can also be significant. Health care providers (HCPs) play an important role in the screening and management of adolescents and young adults with EDs. This position statement assists community-based HCPs with recognizing, diagnosing, and treating EDs in the paediatric population. Screening modalities, indications for hospitalization, medical complications, and monitoring of young people with EDs are summarized. Current evidence supports the use of family-based treatment (FBT) as the first-line psychological therapeutic modality for adolescents with restrictive EDs. While the provision of FBT may be beyond the scope of practice for some community physicians, this statement reviews its core tenets. When an ED is diagnosed, early application of these principles in the community setting by HCPs may slow disease progression and provide guidance to families.