What is ARFID?
ARFID is an eating disorder unlike Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia because individuals are not concerned about their body image or trying to lose weight. There is currently no solid data for how many people in the UK have ARFID as it is very often conflated with “fussy” eating. However, in a systematic review* of 30 studies, the estimated prevalence of ARFID in child and adolescent samples ranged between 0.3% and 15.5%. What's more, the eating disorders charity Beat received 295 calls about ARFID in 2018 – comprising 2% of its 20,535 inquiries that year. However, it received 2,054 calls last year, which accounted for one in 10 of its 20,535 requests for help. Many were from children and young people or their parents.
ARFID is characterised by a limited range of food intake by eating only “safe” foods and avoiding entire food types, leading to difficulty meeting nutritional and energy needs, weight loss and health problems. This can be for reasons including sensory sensitivity, fear of negative consequences from eating, and/or a low interest in eating.
