423: Problem eating in a community sample, the thin end of a wedge. A 'Mind The Kids' Podcast

This episode of the Mind the Kids podcast is called "Problem Eating in a Community Sample: The Thin End of a Wedge." Hosts Dr. Jane Gilmour, honorary consultant clinical psychologist and Child Development Programme Director at UCL, and Professor Umar Toseeb, Professor of Psychology at the University of York specialising in children and young people's mental health and special educational needs, are joined by Dr. Clara Faria from the University of Cambridge to discuss eating difficulties and eating disorders in young people.

Dr. Faria is the lead author of "The Prevalence of Eating Difficulties in Children and Young People in England: A Large, Cross-Sectional School Survey," published in JCPP Advances, one of ACAMH's journals. Drawing on 2023 data from the OxWell Student Survey — a large school-based survey led by Professor Mina Fazel — the study found that eating difficulties are common among secondary school students, with a weighted prevalence of 62.5% reporting at least one type of eating difficulty. Using the DAWBA screening items, the most endorsed difficulty was believing you were fat when others said you were thin (47.3%), while the least endorsed, but still striking, was self-induced vomiting (17.7%).

The conversation explores:

- The difference between disordered eating, problem eating, and clinically diagnosable eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, ARFID (avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder), OSFED, and binge eating disorder

- What the evidence says about the transition from disordered eating to a diagnosable eating disorder, including longitudinal and twin-study findings on body dissatisfaction and gender differences in risk

- Whether eating disorders sit within an internalising or externalising framework, and why binge eating disorder may not fit neatly into either

- The impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on eating difficulties, body image, and screen time among young people

- What schools and clinicians can learn from family-based treatment and non-judgmental approaches such as the Body Project when supporting young people with problematic eating

This episode is essential listening for child and adolescent psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, researchers, educators, and school staff interested in youth mental health, eating disorders, body image, and evidence-based approaches to supporting young people with problem eating.

📄 Read the full paper, published in JCPP Advances: The prevalence of eating difficulties in child