Eating Disorders Awareness Week: What is ARFID? | News

Eating Disorders Awareness Week (EDAW) runs from 26 February to 3 March 2024.

Our Eating Disorders Service provides for all people living with a moderate or severe eating disorder throughout North Central London, plus Tower Hamlets, Newham and City and Hackney.

If you or someone you care for would like to know more about accessing our services, you can read more here.

This year's EDAW theme

ARFID is lesser known compared to some of the other eating disorders and this can make it harder for people with this particular eating disorder to get the treatment they need.

This is why it’s important to have awareness weeks like this one: so more people can help support those around them who may be struggling. Eating disorders affect around 1.25 million people in the UK, so you may well know someone who is affected.

To learn more about ARFID, we spoke to Ashton Dublin, Eating Disorders Service Manager and Dr Julie Evans, the Service’s Joint Clinical Lead.

What is ARFID?

ARFID is a type of eating disorder involving avoiding or severely restricting certain types of food.

A person with ARFID isn’t doing this to lose weight or change their body shape. Instead, this restrictive behaviour can often be related to a sensitivity to certain textures, smells, appearances, or tastes of foods. Some people with ARFID may avoid certain foods because they associate them with a traumatic experience like choking, vomiting or abdominal pain, which leads to a fear of eating.

What are some of the experiences of people who have ARFID?

ARFID is mostly diagnosed in children, but adults are affected too. It is more common in people who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism or anxiety disorders.

A person with ARFID may feel very full after eating only a small amount, struggle to tolerate feeling full and appear to be a ‘picky eater’. They may have a limited number of ‘safe’ foods, leading to them avoiding social occasions where eating is involved. Someone with ARFID may have other food ‘rules’ too, but a key thing to remember is that no two people’s experiences of the disorder will be the same.

What are the consequences of living with ARFID?

A person with ARFID may end up not eating enough to meet their nutritional needs. They may lose a significant amount of weight or gain weight, depending on which foods make up their diet.

Someone may have nutritional deficiencies and struggle to have the energy to do day-to-day tasks.

Children with ARFID may experience issues with growth and development.

Why might someone live with ARFID over an extended period of time?

Eating the same ‘safe’ foods all the time can make new foods taste even more different or ‘strange’. Certain nutrient deficiencies can also change the way food tastes, making trying new food even less appealing.

Someone with a very limited diet may find that they get tired of their ‘safe’ foods over time and stop eating it, further reducing the range of foods they can eat.

It may be hard for someone living with ARFID to eat with others, meaning they miss out on opportunities to learn about or try new foods and attach positive, social experiences to eating.

How do we treat ARFID?

ARFID can be treated with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and anxiety management techniques.

CBT can help the person understand what thoughts, feelings, physical symptoms, and behaviours keep ARFID going.

The person may be encouraged to reintroduce feared foods into their diet slowly and repeat eating these until they experience less fear associated with these foods. They can hopefully learn to tolerate uncomfortable feelings around food over time.

If the person with ARFID has nutritional deficiencies, they may be encouraged to take supplements alongside their psychological therapy.

You can read more about what it’s like to live with ARFID and other eating disorders on the Beat charity’s website. The charity also has lots of resources for people living with eating disorders and those who care for them.