New guidelines calling on primary-care providers to screen all adolescent patients for eating disorders are being welcomed by health-care professionals and experts, who add that education is still needed to ensure diagnoses aren’t missed.
The Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) released the recommendations on Thursday, which asked for patients to be screened not only during routine checkups but other medical visits as well.
Dr. Debra Katzman, a professor of pediatrics at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), told Global News the guidelines were “extremely important.”
“They help health-care providers and pediatricians sort of structure their encounter with an adolescent and help in terms of screening and potentially diagnosing eating disorders,” she said in an interview with Global News.
According to the Canadian Paediatric Society, it’s estimated up to five per cent of adolescents are affected by eating disorders, and that many go unrecognized or experience delays in diagnosis.
Often, youth with eating disorders come to their primary care provider first, with the society noting they may have “vague symptoms” like abdominal pain or menstrual abnormalities. These visits, the organization says, can be an opportunity to screen for eating disorders.
A lack of education about disordered eating can create such delays.
“These recommendations will shine a light on something that that is in the shadows right now,” Marlies van Dijk with the Silver Linings Foundation said.
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One thing van Dijk notes is misunderstandings about eating disorders can also lead to doctors and other health-care practitioners not being able to recognize an eating disorder.
She said there can be a misconception that it’s a phase youth are going through or they just need to eat more food and “it’ll all work out,” and that eating disorders can look different in different patients.
“Binge eating is the number one eating disorder and that you don’t always present as someone who’s thin to a primary care physician,” van Dijk said. “We need to build capacity.”
The guidelines note that missed or delayed diagnoses can often occur in people who might not fit what might be considered the “classic” vision of an eating disorder, and can include men, sexual and racial minorities, pre-pubescent children, or those perceived to be of average or above-average weight.
Katzman says that’s why the guidelines could better help primary-care providers, and encourage them to ask about changes in weight, exercise habits and body image.
If diagnosed, whether in the early stages or if a person is already suffering from an eating disorder, getting help can prove crucial in helping them recover.
“If we identify these young people early and begin treatment immediately we can, in fact, treat these young people, they can recover from the eating disorder and the recovery process can have an incredible impact on their quality of life,” Katzman said.
Van Dijk adds parents should also stay alert to changes in their children and to seek medical attention if they notice something is off.
“The sooner you see that your child is showing behaviors that might indicate an eating disorder, the better it is that you start talking with them, and hopefully, involve others if you can,” van Dijk said.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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