Early childhood feeding disorders: Implications on adolescents' self-perception, BMI, and parental perception

This study investigated the self-perception of physical appearance among adolescents who were diagnosed with feeding disorder (FD) in toddlerhood, while considering both the physical (body mass index [BMI] scores) and subjective (parental perceptions) aspects of the children's weight. Families who participated in a study on toddlers diagnosed with FD (N = 52; 30 FD group) participated in a follow-up study during adolescence (M age = 13 years, SD = 1.9; girls = 31). Parents reported their perceptions of their children's weight, adolescents reported their perceptions of their physical appearance, and BMI scores were calculated. The FD group had lower BMI scores compared to the healthy control group (Cohen's d = 0.71). In addition, among the FD group, adolescent self-perception of physical appearance was related to parental perceptions of adolescent weight, rather than adolescent BMI score. These findings show that FD during toddlerhood has long-term implications on both a child's weight and a child's self-perception of physical appearance.