Harris, Sarah, Gilbert, Matthew, Beasant, Lucy et al. · Clinical child psychology and psychiatry · 2017 · DOI
This study looked at why some teenagers with ME/CFS have trouble eating. Researchers interviewed 11 teenagers and found that eating difficulties were caused by stomach symptoms, fatigue making it hard to eat, and changes in how food tasted or smelled. These eating problems affected their weight, energy levels, mood, and family life. The teenagers found that changing what they ate, family support, and medical help (like medications) were helpful.
Eating difficulties affect approximately 10% of adolescents with ME/CFS but remain poorly understood and underrecognized. This research highlights that eating difficulties are a significant unmet clinical need that substantially impacts quality of life, disease progression, and family functioning. The findings suggest that early screening and intervention by clinicians could prevent a harmful cycle where poor nutrition exacerbates core ME/CFS symptoms.
This qualitative study does not establish the prevalence or incidence of eating difficulties beyond the 10% estimate in the literature. It cannot determine causality or the relative contribution of each identified factor (gastrointestinal, fatigue, chemosensory, psychological) to eating difficulties. The findings apply specifically to adolescents with ME/CFS; generalization to adults or children outside a specialist clinic setting is limited.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Harris, Sarah, Gilbert, Matthew, Beasant, Lucy, Linney, Catherine, Broughton, Jessica, & Crawley, Esther (2017). A qualitative investigation of eating difficulties in adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis.. Clinical child psychology and psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104516646813
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-harris-2017-qualitative-investigation,
author = {Harris, Sarah and Gilbert, Matthew and Beasant, Lucy and Linney, Catherine and Broughton, Jessica and Crawley, Esther},
title = {A qualitative investigation of eating difficulties in adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis.},
journal = {Clinical child psychology and psychiatry},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1177/1359104516646813},
note = {PubMed: 27215228},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/harris-2017-qualitative-investigation},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/harris-2017-qualitative-investigation
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