Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

ARFID is an eating disorder that is characterized by an aversion or avoidance of eating which can lead to not meeting appropriate nutritional needs. It can seem similar to anorexia; however, it does not involve negative body image.

Many children go through picky eating phases. Children who have ARFID can struggle to consume enough nutrients to grow properly. Many adults who have ARFID struggle to get enough or a good balance of nutrients which can lead to other health conditions.

The three types of ARFID include:

1. Sensory - struggles with consuming certain textures, tastes, and smells

2. Trauma or fear based- fear of choking, vomiting, other GI distress

3. Disinterest- lack of interest in eating
   

ARFID can co-occur with failure to thrive, anxiety, OCD, autism spectrum disorder, neurodivergence, and more. Children, teens, and adults with ARFID can experience anxiety surrounding food related situations, develop a food scarcity mindset when safe foods are not around, or get tired of foods that were previously safe which further limits intake.

Bora Nutrition specializes in ARFID and our dietitians have successfully treated individuals struggling with picky eating and ARFID for years.

How do you treat ARFID?

To put it simply - listening to our clients’ lived experience, exposures (not solely food focused), and compassion.

For some clients, expanding food variety isn’t a goal. For some, it’s being able to eat in public spaces with family and friends or navigating food judgements. We help our clients by providing tools to help navigate these situations.

For our clients that are neurodivergent and have ARFID, we educate our clients and their support systems on neurotypical eating assumptions and how that may not be the best fit for them. An example of this is eating three larger meals a day- this can be overwhelming so we may encourage a different way of eating that feels more achievable and tolerable.

Expanding food variety through exposures is a gradual and rewarding process. Our clients are given skills to help them in expand their variety not just at home but in real life situations. We help our clients feel more comfortable navigating situations involving food, i.e. going to school, eating with friends, or being on vacation. We also coach parents and loved ones on how to support clients with their goals. If a client does not want to focus on exposures, our ARFID specialist nutritionists focus on what they want to achieve!

Clients are given coping skills and structure surrounding exposures to help reach their goals consistently. Every client is different so we collaborate and customize treatment goals together.