What is ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder)?

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What is ARFID?

ARFID is an eating disorder where a person struggles to eat enough food, enough different kinds of food, or both—but not because they want to lose weight or are trying to change the way their body looks. Instead, people with ARFID struggle to eat because of extreme sensory sensitivities, fear of a bad outcome from eating, or lack of interest in eating. Just like other eating disorders, ARFID can result in serious consequences for mental and physical health and can occur at any age, from young children to adults. While ARFID is often misunderstood as “picky eating,” it’s a diagnosable eating disorder that can be incredibly disruptive to life and poses serious risks to a person’s mental and physical health. There’s no single cause of ARFID: it emerges out of a combination of environmental and genetic factors.

ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) Treatment at Equip

Equip specializes in ARFID treatment, addressing sensory sensitivities, fear of eating, and food-related anxiety. Get personalized care with therapy, nutrition counseling, and more.

What to know about ARFID

Can occur in youth and adults
Requires specialized treatment

Why Equip?

Largest ARFID treatment provider in the US

Our virtual ARFID treatment makes it easier to get evidence-based care

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Symptoms Treatment FAQ

ARFID signs and symptoms

Physical symptoms of ARFID

Noticeable weight loss
Lack of weight gain or falling off the growth curve in growing kids
Constipation, abdominal pain, and other gastrointestinal issues
Impaired immune function

Behavioral symptoms of ARFID

Sleep problems
Difficulty concentrating
Lethargy

Food-related symptoms of ARFID

Eating very small amounts of food
Lack of expected weight gain or falling off the growth chart for growing kids and teens
Food sensory sensitivity
Inflexible eating habits, such as insisting on specific preparation of meals
Fear of contamination, choking, or nausea from food

Lack of appetite
Little to no interest in food
Difficulty trying new or unfamiliar foods
Reliance on nutritional supplements

12 years old

The average age when ARFID starts is 12 years old and it can occur in children as young as 6.¹

ARFID treatmentARFID is a bit different from other eating disorders, as the behaviors associated with it don’t usually stem from body image issues or a desire to lose weight. Because of this, treatment requires a somewhat different approach, but—just as with other diagnoses—the goal is still to work through the nutritional, behavioral, psychological, and physiological components of the eating disorder.

3.2%

of children may have ARFID²

0.5-5%

as much as 5% of adults may have ARFID³

Although concerns about weight don't play a role in ARFID behaviors, ARFID can cause notable weight loss, so weight restoration is often the first step. Regardless of whether or not weight gain is needed, patients will also work with their care team to address any nutritional deficiencies. It’s important to tackle these elements first, because when a person’s brain is malnourished, it’s nearly impossible for them to make progress in other areas of treatment.

The next and biggest step in ARFID treatment is to normalize eating habits and expand the amount and variety of food a person will eat. This can be done in a variety of different ways, but often involves a therapist, dietitian, or both, who can help patients incorporate new foods in a safe environment. Patients also work with their providers to address the factors that are contributing to their limited intake, learning strategies and skills to handle tough emotions that arise around food.

ARFID treatment should also take into account gastrointestinal disorders, food sensitivities and allergies, or sensory processing disorders, all of which could contribute to ARFID symptoms. Because ARFID often co-occurs with neurodivergent conditions like ADHD and autism, treatment should also be adjusted to accommodate each patient’s unique needs and abilities.

ARFID treatment at Equip

Eating disorders show up in different ways from person to person, so treatment can’t be one-size-fits-all. At Equip, we individualize our approach to ARFID treatment based on a patient’s unique needs, challenges, and life circumstances. But no matter the specifics of treatment, all patients are matched with a dedicated 5-person care team. Our care teams supports patients with the following services throughout the recovery process.

ARFID behaviors, such as avoidance and fear of food, can stem from psychological and emotional concerns. Past food-related trauma can also play a role in the symptoms. Patients will work with their Equip therapist to get to the root cause of ARFID behaviors and learn to adjust thought patterns when faced with unfamiliar or anxiety-producing foods.

Common questions about ARFID

See more FAQs

ARFID treatment generally requires a slightly different approach than treatment for other eating disorders. As with treatment for other eating disorders, if a patient needs to gain weight, the initial focus of treatment is weight restoration. This is because when the body is malnourished, the brain is, too, and a malnourished brain doesn’t think clearly or take in new information well. For ARFID patients that don’t need to gain weight, treatments are focused on normalizing eating habits, reducing anxiety, and gradually increasing food variety to meet nutritional needs.

During treatment, patients and their supports also meet regularly with their treatment team to learn tools and skills that help them cope with the challenges of recovering from ARFID. To accomplish this, our clinicians may use different treatment modalities, including family-based treatment for ARFID (FBT-ARFID), cognitive behavioral therapy for ARFID (CBT-AR), and exposure and response prevention (ERP).

You can learn more about Equip’s approach to ARFID treatment on our blog.

While ARFID is identified more frequently in children (with the average age of onset hovering around 12 years old, and diagnoses in children as young as 6 years old), it does affect adults. Though research is limited, one study suggests that ARFID may account for 9.2% of adult eating disorders.

Research on ARFID is still relatively new compared to other eating disorders—we're still learning a lot about it! As with all eating disorders, there is likely no single identifiable cause of ARFID. While some ARFID cases can be triggered by a specific event that causes a fear of solid food—like choking, vomiting, or sickness—we still don’t know why some people who experience these events develop ARFID and others don’t.

Very early research suggests, though, that neurobiological and psychological factors are likely involved in the development of ARFID. You can learn more about the causes of eating disorders on our blog.

Studies suggest that there is a connection between ARFID and autism. One meta-analysis found that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were five times as likely to have feeding problems than children without ASD. Current research shows that autism occurs at higher rates in those with ARFID than in the general population: while the overall autism rate is 1.5%, estimates of co-occurring ARFID and ASD range from 12.5%-33.3%. You can learn more about autism and neurodivergence in eating disorders on our blog.

All Equip providers are trained in treating all eating disorder diagnoses, and our provider team includes many people with specific clinical expertise treating ARFID as well as those with lived experience recovering from ARFID or helping a loved one recover from ARFID. We’ve successfully treated many patients with ARFID, and are well-acquainted with the specific challenges this unique diagnosis can present and how to overcome them.

Our patients are experiencing an early and sustained response to Equip treatment

Patients requiring weight restoration who reached their target weight

After 16 weeks

49%