Global prevalence of eating disorders in children: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis

Eating disorders (EDs) are known as chronic mental disorders that can cause adverse physical and mental effects and affect different age groups, including children, and disrupt their growth and development. Based on this, the aim of this research is to determine the global prevalence of EDs in children.

To conduct this research, each of the databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of science, Embase, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar search engine were systematically searched using relevant keywords ("prevalence,""outbreak,""eating disorder,""feeding disorder,""eating problem,""appetite disorder,"to find all the studies that refer to the prevalence of EDs in children until July 23, 2024 to obtain and perform further evaluations. After data extraction, their analysis was done by Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (Version 2); Random effects model was used for analysis and I² index was also used to check the heterogeneity of studies.

Based on the global prevalence of EDs in children based on meta-analysis was 1% (95% CI: 0.6-1.6); Subgroup analysis based on the study of eating disorders in children showed that the prevalence of pica among children is 2.1% (95% CI: 1-4.6), the prevalence of binge eating disorder is 1% (95% CI: 0.6-1.8), and the prevalence of anorexia nervosa and Bulimia nervosa among children is 0.6% (95% CI: 0.01-34.4) and 0.1% (95% CI: 0-0.4), respectively.

Considering the importance of nutrition in children and the report of EDs among them, healthcare workers and medical personnel must pay attention to this category of disorders by timely informing parents to reduce the complications caused by it.