Food Allergy in childhood: cause of eating disorders in adolescents and adults?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36557/2674-8169.2025v7n7p725-736Keywords:
Alergia alimentar, Transtornos Alimentares. Bulimina Nervosa. Anorexia Nervosa, Crianças, Consumo AlimentarAbstract
Introduction: Food allergies (AA) are immunological reactions, whether or not immune-mediated by IgE. Treatment consists of the total exclusion of the allergenic food from the diet. This restriction can have a negative impact on eating behavior, including in the long term, causing binge eating and weight loss. According to the literature, it would be one of the factors involved in the etiology of eating disorders (ED). Objective(s): To identify in the scientific literature the relationship between AA in childhood and the cause of ED in adulthood. Methods: Integrative review, in the SCIELO, PUBMED, LILACS databases, with keywords: food allergies and eating disorders, eating disorders in adolescence, childhood food allergy, in Portuguese and English. The study contained five stages: elaboration of the title and theme, search for articles, selection, critical analysis, and summary. The analysis was carried out between February and March 2025. Results: The initial search resulted in 100 articles, which, after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulted in 1 narrative review and 3 original articles. The first article analyzed abnormal eating behaviors common in adults and their etiology, concluding that AA and food intolerance were frequent causes of disturbed eating patterns. The second analyzed how stressful it is to live with AA, with constant monitoring related to food constituents, and did not show any association with the diagnosis of disorders. The last study, conducted in children/adolescents, evaluated whether the increased prevalence of ED could have biopsychosocial implications for AA, concluding that these were associated with the prevalence of ED and/or symptoms similar to these disorders. Conclusion: Could dietary guidance based on elimination diets make AA carriers more prone to eating disorders when compared to their healthy peers? The literature is still scarce to answer this question, and more studies are needed to identify and confirm whether severe restrictions could influence the appearance of ED.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Gabriela Verri de Faria, Giselia de Santana Muniz, Edigleide Maria Figueiroa Barretto, Maria Goretti Pessoa de Araújo Burgos
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