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[quote=Anonymous]I just have to add to this discussion. I think there is too much emphasis on the psychological. OP describes a child who needs more food. She probably also needs a diagnosis. 
Our story: My DD has always been VERY interested in food. In 8th grade she bought a nutrition book and we tried it all out. Some weird stuff. I thought this was a phase so I went along with it. I didn’t know what she was suffering through. We tested for allergies. No allergies. 
Then she started having stomach aches and we tried elimination diet. Oh we tried everything, including therapy because she was depressed & anxious. And her stomach hurt. And it was a family joke she had a small bladder. 
Things came to a head when she was a star in track and field. She strangely fell down in the middle of a race. But really she fainted. While running full speed. 
Then she started breaking bones in her legs and ankles. Stress fractures. We thought, geez no need to be THAT competitive. 
We were in and out of doctors offices all the time. She started to mention she was in pain a lot of the time from constipation and diarrhea. As a female teen she didn’t want to tell us all the details of her “bathroom issues “. We were STILL treating her for psychological issues. 
Finally we found out she has IBS, and not mildly either. 
It took 10 YEARS. Doctors missed it. We missed it. I feel bad that we treated her bones (IBS robs bones of nutrients) and her anxiety while missing her REAL problem. And the daily pain she suffered from alternating constipation and diarrhea. At one point she wasn’t allowed to leave the classroom during a test. She HAD to relieve herself and took a zero on the test. Other similar incidents. 
We are not uninvolved parents at all. But somehow despite visiting doctor after doctor not one diagnosed this. It was Dr Google in the end. We finally found a specialist and some support and things are much better now. 
To get back to the “not eating “. Starving yourself is not normal. A child who steadfastly refuses to eat to the point of wasting/ starving probably has a physical problem, somewhere somehow. The body rejects food that it can’t digest in many subtle ways. 
I hope all of you who are struggling find answers and solutions. It’s terrible to watch your child suffer and waste away. 
Sorry so long. [/quote]

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