ABSTRACT
The late diagnosis and treatment of food disorders during development represents a serious risk for the health of children and adolescents, leading to a lower quality of life and imposing high prices to pay in their adulthood. Food disorders are characterized by different constellations of symptoms, and their onset can be the result of a multitude of personal histories. As with any other childhood disorder, parents’ reactions to their children’s eating behaviours play a primary role in influencing their future behaviours. Low attunement in parental responses, including, for example, poor structuring of meal times, or providing food that is not age-appropriate, or offering the child’s favourite foods as a means to avoid food rejection, serve to reinforce the problems manifested by the child. The mindfulness-based approach is increasingly used in the treatment of a wide variety of pathologies. Mindfulness-based interventions are based on the ability to focus on the present moment, adopting a non-judgemental attitude.
