Why Won’t This Child Eat?

Symptoms of infantile feeding disorders (IFDs) include food refusal, poor food intake, gagging, vomiting, and failure to thrive, but because these symptoms are also common in organic conditions — such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and cow’s milk allergy — distinguishing IFDs from organic conditions can be difficult. Researchers compared behavior patterns, signs, and symptoms of feeding problems in 83 children who ultimately responded to behavioral therapy alone (behavioral group) and 68 children who responded to medical or nutritional therapy without requiring behavioral therapy (organic-disorder group). All children were seen at a pediatric feeding disorder clinic in Israel between 2005 and 2007 and underwent a detailed, struct…