This is the current release of the guideline.

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Policies are reviewed every 3 years by the authoring body, at which time a recommendation is made that the policy be retired, revised, or reaffirmed without change. Until the Board of Directors approves a revision or reaffirmation, or retires a statement, the current policy remains in effect.

1. Pediatricians need to be knowledgeable about the early signs and symptoms of disordered eating and other related behaviors.
2. Pediatricians should be aware of the careful balance that needs to be in place to decrease the growing prevalence of eating disorders in children and adolescents. When counseling children on risk of obesity and healthy eating, care needs to be taken not to foster overaggressive dieting and to help children and adolescents build self-esteem while still addressing weight concerns.
3. Pediatricians should be familiar with the screening and counseling guidelines for disordered eating and other related behaviors.
4. Pediatricians should know when and how to monitor and/or refer patients with eating disorders to best address their medical and nutritional needs, serving as an integral part of the multidisciplinary team.
5. Pediatricians should be encouraged to calculate and plot weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) using age- and gender-appropriate graphs at routine annual pediatric visits.
6. Pediatricians can play a role in primary prevention through office visits and community- or school-based interventions with a focus on screening, education, and advocacy.
7. Pediatricians can work locally, nationally, and internationally to help change cultural norms conducive to eating disorders and proactively to change media messages.
8. Pediatricians need to be aware of the resources in their communities so they can coordinate care of various treating professionals, helping to create a seamless system between inpatient and outpatient management in their communities.
9. Pediatricians should help advocate for parity of mental health benefits to ensure continuity of care for the patients with eating disorders.
10. Pediatricians need to advocate for legislation and regulations that secure appropriate coverage for medical, nutritional, and mental health treatment in settings appropriate to the severity of the illness (inpatient, day hospital, intensive outpatient, and outpatient).
11. Pediatricians are encouraged to participate in the development of objective criteria for the optimal treatment of eating disorders, including the use of specific treatment modalities and the transition from one level of care to another.

None provided

The type of supporting evidence is not specifically stated for each recommendation.

Not applicable: The guideline was not adapted from another source.

2003 Jan

American Academy of Pediatrics - Medical Specialty Society

American Academy of Pediatrics

Committee on Adolescence

Committee Members, 2002-2003: David W. Kaplan, MD, MPH, Chairperson; Margaret Blythe, MD; Angela Diaz, MD; Ronald A. Feinstein, MD; *Martin M. Fisher, MD; Jonathan D. Klein, MD, MPH; W. Samuel Yancy, MD

Consultant: *Ellen S. Rome, MD, MPH

Liaisons: S. Paige Hertweck, MD; Miriam Kaufman, RN, MD; Glen Pearson, MD

Staff: Tammy Piazza Hurley

*Lead authors

Not stated

This is the current release of the guideline.

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Policies are reviewed every 3 years by the authoring body, at which time a recommendation is made that the policy be retired, revised, or reaffirmed without change. Until the Board of Directors approves a revision or reaffirmation, or retires a statement, the current policy remains in effect.

None available

None available

This NGC summary was completed by ECRI on May 15, 2003. The information was verified by the guideline developer on June 9, 2003. This summary was updated by ECRI on August 15, 2005, following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory on antidepressant medications. This summary was updated by ECRI Institute on November 2, 2007, following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory on Antidepressant drugs.

This NGC summary is based on the original guideline, which is subject to the guideline developer's copyright restrictions. Please contact the Permissions Editor, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), 141 Northwest Point Blvd, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007.