What is AFRID?
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, or ARFID, is characterized by staying away from certain foods or eating very little food. Like anorexia, ARFID results in malnutrition, but unlike anorexia, it is not a result of body image issues. ARFID is common in infants or children and can persist into adulthood.
Individuals with ARFID have developed some type of problem with feeding or eating that causes them to avoid particular foods or consuming food altogether. As a result, they aren’t able to take in enough calories or nutrients through their diet. This can lead to nutritional deficiencies, delayed growth, and problems with weight gain.
ARFID is similar to anorexia in that both disorders involve limitations in the amount and/or types of food consumed, but unlike anorexia, ARFID does not involve any distress about body shape or size, or fears of fatness.
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), also known as “extreme picky eating,” is an eating disorder characterized by highly selective eating habits, disturbed feeding patterns or both. It often results in significant nutrition and energy deficiencies, and for children, failure to gain weight.
