Effective Treatment Approaches for Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents: A Review Article

Eating disorders are serious psychiatric illnesses marked by disordered behaviors toward food and eating due to dissatisfactory body shape and weight, which impact the physical and psychological growth of children and adolescents. This review aims to recognize the effectiveness of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in treating eating disorders. The most common type of eating disorder is anorexia nervosa characterized by severe restriction of energy intake and an intense fear of gaining weight. Bulimia nervosa is characterized by episodes of binging and purging followed by compensatory behaviors. Binge eating disorder is characterized by binging without compensatory behaviors. Avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder is characterized by a lack of interest in eating unrelated to weight and shape concerns. Depending on the severity of the condition, patients could be treated as an inpatient, partial hospitalization, or outpatient treatment using different psychotherapies, including family-based therapy, psychodynamic individual treatment, cognitive behavioral therapy, adolescent-focused therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy, or a combination of both. Studies in children and adolescents show that family-based therapy is considered the first-line treatment for anorexia nervosa, and the second evidence-based approach is adolescent-focused therapy. As for bulimia nervosa, both family-based treatment and cognitive behavioral therapy are almost equally effective. In binge eating disorder, cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy are the most beneficial psychotherapies. For avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder, psychotherapy or hospitalization could be considered. Concerning pharmacotherapy, none of the medications have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for children and adolescents.