Two Subtypes of Food Refusal in Preteens Found

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SAN DIEGO -- The presence or absence of body image distortion can help clinicians identify two distinct groups of latency-age children who present with severe food refusal, Robyn S. Mehlenbeck, Ph.D., reported at the annual meeting of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.

The finding is important because latency-age patients do not fit neatly into categories of anorexia or feeding disorder of early childhood, said Dr. Mehlenbeck of the department of psychiatry at Rhode Island Hospital, Brown Medical School, Providence, R.I.

"There's a lot of confusion about these kids who don't fit [a definition] and we really don't know what to call them, let …