Have you Heard of ARFID?
The most important thing to remember is that it goes way beyond just “picky eating” as those with ARFID have intense reactions and anxiety to food that are not just not liking a particular food.
ARFID is a type of eating disorder. It most commonly occurs in neurodivergent folks (think Autism and/or ADHD). ARFID stands for Avoidant/Restricted Food Intake Disorder. Most folks with ARFID get diagnosed as a child but it can be diagnosed at any age. The most important thing to remember is that it goes way beyond just “picky eating” as those with ARFID have intense reactions and anxiety to food that are not just not liking a particular food.
Under the umbrella of ARFID, there are three subcategories. A person with ARFID can have only one subtype or even all three! Each subtype can result in major food related anxiety and an unwillingness to try or eat new foods. This can cause a person to have a very limited diet. Those considered acceptable foods are also known as “safe foods,” but more on those later.
The first and, most common, subcategory is Sensory Aversions. This is when a person has a negative reaction to food due to different/multiple sensory aspects. This can be an aversion to any or all characteristics of a particular food including the smell, taste, texture (how it feels to touch or in the mouth), and the food looks (even color or shape). In severe cases, people can limit their safe foods to a specific brand! Many autistics, ADHDers, and AuDHDers (those with both autism and ADHD) with Sensory Processing Disorder are at risk for developing this subcategory of ARFID.
The second subcategory is Fear of Consequences. The way this breaks down is that the person with this subtype has an ever present, and overwhelming, fear that something bad is going to happen as a result of eating (either in general or with particular foods). These fears can include the fear of choking, vomiting, or having gastrointestinal distress/pain. People who have to limit their variety of food intake due to chronic illnesses, such as food allergy, reflux, or gastroparesis, can be at a risk for developing this subcategory of ARFID.
The third subcategory is called Avoidance. This is marked as a complete uninterest in food that does not have a weight loss need, unlike Atypical or Typical Anorexia Nervosa. It is less likely for a person to only have this subtype on its own and often have at least one of the previous subcategories in addition to Avoidance.
So you might be wondering, what WILL a person with ARFID eat? Often they eat a small collection of safe foods. These can be anything that a person deems as acceptable, but often consists of more processed foods due to their constant and easy to predict consistencies. Many people with ARFID can only eat very brand specific foods. For example, a person may like Tyson brand chicken nuggets, but absolutely refuse to eat another brand for what may seem like minute reasons to an outsider, but a big difference to the person.
Treatments for ARFID are simple. Having an informed dietitian and therapist that can help gently expand food tolerances through exposures and talking it out. Often these exposures can be “bridges” by finding a food that is similar to the safe food and expanding from there. One example might look like going from cheese flavored crackers to plain crackers with cheese on top. Also many folks with ARFID find it necessary to take multivitamins, meal replacement drinks, and/or other supplements that help bridge the gap in nutrition that they are not getting from eating.
This post is part of a two-part blog series on ARFID. Make sure to follow our updates for the next installment.
Are you or your loved one dealing with a chronic condition?
We are Spoons of Salt, a nonprofit organization dedicate to help the chronic illness community. You don't have to do it alone, we are here to support you every step of the way.
