Clinical practice guidelines for medical professionals working with children and adolescents recommend routine screening for eating disorders. However, no validated screening tools exist for this age group. The aim of this study was to design and validate a brief, caregiver-based screening tool for eating disorders in children ages 6-12 that can be used in primary care. Caregivers of children aged 6-12 completed a battery of questionnaires (N=1,760). A subsample of caregivers completed semi-structured diagnostic interviews (n=255) to evaluate child eating disorder diagnosis. Standard data science practices were used to determine which questions were best at detecting an eating disorder and the most appropriate scoring threshold. Our final screener consists of two items that were effective at discriminating between children with an eating disorder and those without one and that were general enough to capture multiple diagnoses. As is recommended by organizations such as the AAP, this tool would ideally be administered to all caregivers of children ages 6-12 at yearly wellness visits beginning at the age of 6.

The research was carried out by Equip Health. Authors are employees of Equip Health. Steinberg, Jones, Freestone, Baker, Hellner and Bohon have stock options in Equip Health.

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The project was funded by Equip Health, Inc.

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

The study was reviewed and approved by the Biomedical Research Alliance of New York (BRANY) Institutional Review Board (New York, NY).

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Yes

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

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I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

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All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors.