Feeding a family is a lot of work, especially if you have picky eaters. It’s normal for young
children to have strong food preferences or significant reactions to foods that look or taste different. Usually, picky eating improves with time and repeated exposure to new foods. Sometimes, though, picky eating is more than a development phase and becomes so extreme that it interferes with daily functioning or growth and development markers.
Avoidant and Restrictive Food Intake Disorders (ARFID)
Avoidant and Restrictive Food Intake Disorders (ARFID) is often mistaken for picky eating when in fact, it is a diagnosable and treatable eating disorder. ARFID is characterized by failure to gain or maintain weight or meet growth markers due to extremely limited food intake and food variety. We also see an interruption in daily functioning due to limitations or rigidity with food. It is different from other eating disorders because body image concerns are not a central component of the disorder.
ARFID Symptoms
ARFID symptoms include fear and anxiety related to eating and often having only a few “safe” foods. Many people who struggle with ARFID are fearful of choking or vomiting after eating or experience stomach aches and discomfort when they eat. Sometimes, there is a strong sensory aversion to food. A picky eater might worry about what food will be on the menu at a restaurant but still be able to find a few options they can try. A child struggling with ARFID might not even go to the restaurant or refuse to eat because the new foods (or different preparations of familiar food) are so difficult.
Picky Eating
Picky eating is usually temporary. Repeated exposure to foods and allowing your child to have choices in their food selections can help minimize picky eating over time. However, ARFID often increases in severity as time goes on, with fewer and fewer foods feeling “safe.”
If you think your child may struggle with ARFID, it’s important to get support right away. The strongest indicator for complete and lasting recovery is early intervention. Treatment includes working with your pediatrician, a therapist, and dietitian familiar with treating eating disorders, and sometimes an occupational therapist or speech-language pathologist.
Edison Eating Disorder and Mental Health Services has a specialized team to support ARFID and other eating disorder concerns.
Kim Curran is a licensed independent social worker (LISW) and a board-certified eating disorder specialist and consultant (CEDS-C) for the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals. Kim owns Edison Eating Disorder and Mental Health Services, a multidisciplinary outpatient practice in West Des Moines that specializes in treating eating disorders. She is passionate about expanding resources and access to evidence-based eating disorder treatment in Iowa.
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