What is the usual onset age range for infantile anorexia?

• A. Between 6 months and 3 years
• B. Between 0 and 6 months
• C. Between 3 and 6 years
• D. During adolescence

Answer: (A)

Infantile anorexia is a feeding disorder that typically begins in early childhood, during the weaning-to-solids period. The usual onset is around 6 months through 3 years of age. This age range reflects when toddlers are transitioning from milk to solid foods and may develop picky eating, anxiety around meals, or disrupted feeding patterns, often with parental feeding interactions reinforcing the cycle of refusal and undernutrition.

Starting before 6 months is unlikely because infants are largely milk-fed and gaining weight steadily, leaving little room for a pattern of persistent food refusal. Onset after 3 years shifts into a different spectrum of eating problems that are not classically labeled infantile anorexia, such as preschooler selective eating or other disorders, and adolescence involves a different set of etiologies and classifications.