The British Journal of Psychiatry (2006) 189: 324-329. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.105.014316
© 2006 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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Eating habits and attitudes among 10-year-old children of mothers with eating disorders

Longitudinal study

ALAN STEIN, FRCPsych, HELEN WOOLLEY, BA, SANDRA COOPER, BA and JONATHAN WINTERBOTTOM, MA

Section of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, and Tavistock Centre, London, UK

CHRISTOPHER G. FAIRBURN, FRCPsych

Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK

MARIO CORTINA-BORJA, PhD

Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Child Health, University College London, UK

Correspondence: Professor Alan Stein, Section of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1865 223911; fax +44(0)1865 226384; email: alan.stein{at}psych.ox.ac.uk

Declaration of interest None. Funding detailed in Acknowledgements.

* Freely available online through the British Journal of Psychiatry open access option.

Background Children of mothers with eating disorders are at increased risk of developmental disturbance, but there has been little research in middle childhood, when disturbed eating habits tend to emerge.

Aims To examine whether maternal eating disorders identified in the postnatal year are associated with the development of disturbed eating habits and attitudes in children at 10 years of age.

Method Follow-up comparative study of 56 families (33 mothers with eating disorders and 23 controls). Psychopathology of children, mothers and fathers was assessed by interview, and mother–child interaction observed.

Results The index group of children scored higher than controls on three of four domains of eating disorder psychopathology and on a global score. Children’s eating disturbance was associated with length of exposure to mothers’eating disorder and mother–child mealtime conflict at 5 years. There was some evidence of increased emotional problems in index children.

Conclusions The children of mothers with eating disorders manifested disturbed eating habits and attitudes compared with controls, and may be at heightened risk of developing frank eating disorder psychopathology.


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