Child Dieting and Eating Disorders

Worried about her weight, Kristy swore off dessert and cut back on meal portions. As do many of us all the time. Eventually, she began skipping breakfast and was just nibbling at lunch and dinner. Within six months, she dropped 13 pounds. A weight-loss success story? Not at all. Kristy is only 10 years old. Her diet cost her 20 percent of her weight.

Children such as Kristy, a 4th-grader, are at the forefront of a disturbing new trend affecting the health of U.S. children: dieting. Around the country, children as young as 6 are shedding pounds, afraid of being fat and increasingly being treated for eating disorders that threaten their health and growth.

With girls reaching puberty at younger ages, it has become natural for youngsters under age 10 to grow increasingly concerned about bodily changes and weight gain. Puberty is a time of rapid growth in a child's life. Girls and boys alike usually become curvier during this time. Females tend to gain weight on their hips, while males develop broad shoulders and backs. Therefore there is often an increase in overall body fat.

A study by Steven R Thomsen in the