A Call to Action: Unraveling the Nuance of Adapted Eating Behaviors in Individuals With Gastrointestinal Conditions.

The primary aim of this expert narrative review is to unravel the complexities of feeding and eating disorders in the gastroenterology practice setting. We aim to critically assess current assessment screening tools for eating and feeding disorders to gain a comprehensive understanding of how these tools may be misconstrued in the context of gastrointestinal conditions. Additionally, our objective is to highlight the potential for over-pathologizing and under-pathologizing eating behavior in this patient population. Further, we address the potential risk factors that gastroenterology clinicians should be aware of when assessing for disordered eating risk reduction. We hope to elucidate the "gray area" related to eating behaviors in patients with known physiological food intolerance such as FODMAP-related immune activation in irritable bowel syndrome and gluten-related reactions in celiac disease in the gut and beyond, that prompt behaviors that are deemed maladaptive in healthy individuals but may be at times adaptive responses in gastrointestinal conditions.