Clinical Care

Trainee

Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders in Pediatric Obesity: Assessment, Treatment, and Where we go from here

Leader(s)

• 

  Eileen Chaves, PhD, MSc (she/her/hers)

  Pediatric Psychologist/Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
  Nationwide Children's Hospital
  Worthington, Ohio, United States

  Slides

Co-Leader(s)

• 

  Amrik Khalsa, MD, MSc (he/him/his)

  Assistant Professor
  Nationwide Children's Hospital
  Columbus, Ohio, United States
• 

  Cristina Fernandez, MD (she/her/hers)

  Pediatrician
  Children's Mercy Hospital
  Overland Park, Kansas, United States
• 

  Ella Perrin, MD, BS (she/her/hers)

  Resident
  Naval Medical Center San Diego
  San, California, United States

Workshop

Description: Disordered Eating exists on the continuum of eating behaviors and is underdiagnosed in pediatric practice, including in children with obesity. Disordered eating behaviors can exacerbate obesity and its associated adverse medical outcomes. Counseling patients with concomitant disordered eating and obesity poses a unique challenge, as emphasis on patients’ weight and diet may inadvertently worsen disordered eating behaviors. This challenge has garnered increased interest in the field of obesity medicine as an awareness of this relationship has grown. In this interactive workshop, participants will gain an understanding of the importance of disordered eating as differentiated from eating disorders. They will learn about the complex relationship between disordered eating and obesity, gain foundational knowledge about ways to screen for disordered eating, and bridge patients with a positive screen to appropriate resources. Lastly, the symposium will include a discussion about gaps in current screening tools, as well as possible ethical dilemmas posed by implementation of universal screening. Concepts will be reinforced through polling questions, interactive small-group activities (including mock clinical scenarios), and group discussions. Participants will leave with handouts on available screening tools and practical ways to begin the conversation around disordered eating with patients. Through this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to network and gain new collaborators. The workshop will be led by providers from varied expertise in obesity management and/or disordered eating including clinical (all leaders), psychological (Dr. Eileen Chaves), research (Drs. Amrik Singh Khalsa and Ella Perrin), and quality improvement (Dr. Cristina Fernandez).