Internal regulation and the evolution of normal growth as the basis for prevention of obesity in children.
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Adolescent↗
Biomedical subjects
E M Satter
Publications and source records attributed to E M Satter.
Childhood eating disorders.
Eating is a sensitive barometer of emotional state and parent-child interaction. Psychosocial distortions often appear first to the health worker and are referred to the dietitian as distortions in eating. At times, the distortion is severe enough to be called an eating disorder. An eating disorder of childhood is the misuse of feeding in an attempt to solve or camouflage family problems of living that seem otherwise insoluble. The childhood eating disorder might take the form of failure to thrive, obesity, excessive finickiness, or, most commonly, vehement and protracted struggles between parent and child about eating. An eating disorder is a biopsychosocial problem. It is based on characteristics and distortions in physical, physiological, psychological, and social factors. The dietitian who is to be helpful with families referred to her for correction of eating difficulties must be able to detect the disordered situation and differentiate it from one that is simply problematic. If an eating disorder exists, it is unlikely that the situation will change without psychotherapeutic intervention into family functioning. An appropriately conducted symptom management approach to correct the eating distortion is a helpful and potentially successful adjunct to psychotherapy. Such a component should be constructed around the restoration of a positive feeding relationship.
Affective Symptoms↗
The feeding relationship.
The feeding relationship is the complex of interactions that takes place between parent and child as they engage in food selection, ingestion, and regulation behaviors. Successful feeding demands a caretaker who trusts and depends on information coming from the child about timing, amount, preference, pacing, and eating capability. An appropriate feeding relationship supports a child's developmental tasks and helps the child develop positive attitudes about self and the world. It helps him/her learn to discriminate feeding cues and respond appropriately to them. It enhances the ability to consume a nutritionally adequate diet and to regulate appropriately the quantity eaten. The feeding relationship is characteristic of the overall parent-child relationship. Distortions that show up in feeding are likely to appear in other aspects of the interaction. Dietitians who intervene with feeding must be aware of the implications for the relationship. A primary objective with any feeding intervention is to increase or protect the parents' sensitivity to the child's feeding cues. If the feeding relationship is disrupted, the dietitian should consider a referral for psychosocial evaluation.
Breast Feeding↗