Tips for Restrictive Eating Disorders
                     Tips for Restrictive Eating Disorders
What Are Eating Disorders?
• The term eating disorders represents a group of complex mental 
health conditions that can seriously impair health and social 
functioning
Source: www.verywellmind.com
REASONS BEHIND RESTRICTIVE EATING 
DISORDERS
Fear of negative consequences of eating
• Although patients in this category restrict food because they are afraid to eat, 
they do not have body image concerns and are not afraid of weight gain.
•  The fear of eating may be direct or indirect (e.g. the patient worries that he 
might vomit or have an allergic reaction if he eats). 
Source: www.psychiatrictimes.com
Low appetite or disinterest in food
• Struggles with anxiety or depression may also cause feeding issues that result in 
impairment and/or medical compromise; some children lose their appetite in 
response to feeling scared, stressed, or unhappy.
Source: www.psychiatrictimes.com
Avoidance of food based on sensory 
characteristics
• Patients in this category struggle primarily with food variety; they are often 
extremely selective (picky) regarding the food that they consume. 
• Their histories of food refusal usually date back to an early age. They often have 
sensory hypersensitivity that results in profound rigidity involving food.
Source: www.psychiatrictimes.com
Risks & Complications
• Co-occurring anxiety disorders
• Failure to gain weight (children)
• Gastrointestinal complications
• Malnutrition
• Weight Loss
• Developmental delays
Source: www.centerfordiscovery.com
Warning Signs
• Avoidance of particular foods, based on texture, color, taste, smell, food groups, etc.
• Frequent vomiting or gagging after exposure to certain foods
• Difficulty chewing food
• Lack of appetite
• Trouble digesting specific types of foods
Source: www.waldeneatingdisorders.com
Treatment
• In children and adolescents, insufficient nutrition that results in weight loss or 
poor growth is associated with significant medical and psychological 
complications, and as such should be treated aggressively. 
• This is especially true for a young person who has fallen off his or her growth 
curve.
Source: www.psychiatrictimes.com
Other Healthcare professionals who can help
• occupational therapists
• developmental pediatricians
• gastroenterologists
• psychologists
• psychiatrists
• adolescent health physicians
Source: www.psychiatrictimes.com
Conclusion
• Managing restrictive eating disorder requires patience because it may be 
challenging for a doctor to figure out the cause. 
• As doctors do not yet have clinical guidelines to follow, it may take time to 
establish an effective treatment plan.
Source: www.psychiatrictimes.com