By the age of ten, signs of disturbed eating patterns are likely to appear in children whose mothers suffer from eating disorders says a longitudinal study of 56 children published in October's British Journal of Psychiatry.
The children and their mothers, 33 of whom met criteria for an eating disorder at the beginning of the study, were followed from the time the children were one year old. At age ten, the children of mothers with eating disorders scored significantly higher than children of mothers without eating disorders on concerns about weight, body shape and eating. Reviewing taped mealtime interactions from age five, researchers found a high correlation between these concerns and earlier mealtime conflicts about the amount or type of food eaten.
ABSTRACT: Eating habits and attitudes among 10-year-old children of mothers with eating disorders