Persistent failure to eat adequately, with loss of weight or failure to gain weight, that is not due to an associated gastrointestinal or other general medical condition. In dsm-iv-tr, feeding and eating disorders include pica and rumination disorder.
Feeding disorder of early childhood is characterized by an enduring failure to eat adequately that is not due to a general medical condition of lack of available food and causes the infant or child (< 6 years) to fail to gain weight or to experience significant weight loss over a period of at least 1 month.
Feeding disorders are characterized by any interference in the process of deglutition. Deglutition is the semiautomatic motor function of the muscles of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts that are responsible for moving food from the oral cavity (mouth) to the stomach. Normal oral motor function and swallowing are integral processes in oral feeding.