Childhood Anorexia Nervosa Compared with Low Weight Food Intake Disorder Without Weight and Shape-Related Psychopathology: A Retrospective Study of 102 Patients

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical presentation of children with anorexia nervosa (AN group) with that of children with low-weight food intake disorder without weight and shape-related psychopathology (non-AN group). METHOD: Medical and psychiatric data were obtained from the case records of a consecutive series of 102 children with an eating disorder and a pronounced low weight who were below the age of 13 at the start of treatment. RESULTS: Fifty-eight patients constituted the AN group, and 44 constituted the non-AN group. The non-AN group was younger and had a longer duration of symptoms than the AN group. The non-AN group also had a lower maximum premorbid weight and shorter stature. There were no differences in medical severity, but the AN group had more psychiatric treatment. DISCUSSION: The non-AN group seems to have a medically equally severe disorder as the AN group, but is less often detected and properly treated. Copyright © 2016 The Authors European Eating Disorders Review published by Eating Disorders Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.