What Is ARFID And How Is It Different From Picky Eating?

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is a condition far beyond picky eating. ARFID isn't just about disliking certain foods; it's a serious eating disorder that leads to real health issues, setting it apart from typical food preferences. In this video, I'm answering the 6 most common questions I get about ARFID, like how it is diagnosed, its symptoms, and what makes it different from being a bit finicky about food. Whether you're dealing with ARFID, know someone who is, or are just curious about eating disorders, this video is for you!
Chapters:
0:00 What is ARFID?
0:40 So how is ARFID different from picky eating?
1:13 A note on ARFID vs other eating disorders
1:26 How can you identify ARFID from picky eating?
2:58 Why do kids have ARFID?
4:56 When should someone be evaluated for ARFID and how should they go about it?
5:41 So where should you look for help if you suspect ARFID in your child?
7:01 Who can diagnose ARFID?
9:10 ARFID resources below
Resources:
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*Disclaimer: This video is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition, or to provide medical nutrition therapy. If you are concerned about yours or your child's nutrition or eating habits, contact your dietitian.
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[@christiegrows2022]

So glad you’ve covered this. ❤

[@GrowingIntuitiveEaters]

It been a highly requested one!

[@valentinagiovanardi6080]

I feel the need to share something about my personal experience with eating disorder(s) and autism.
1) The fact that weight loss is a factor for diagnosing ARFID does not mean that a normal weight or even overweight child cannot suffer from some form of eating disorder about selective eating. Especially if the child's family is not very attentive to the quality of nutrition, the child may have available large quantities of sugary drinks and sweets to compensate for the calories they did not get from food. On the contrary, the family can react to the child's anxiety towards food with obsessive behaviors regarding the child's diet, specifically choosing high-calorie foods, always offering in rotation those 3-4 dishes that the child eats most willingly, usually white food, and be so anxious that they aren't eating enough to celebrate their overweight as a success.
2) It is not always so simple to label an eating disorder in a neurodiverse person, because it is not uncommon to see an overlap of different eating disorders at the same time, just as it is not uncommon for other types of disorders to also have some effect on nutrition. In my case, mealtime includes many situations that make me uncomfortable, which add to the difficulties strictly related to food: I have a difficult relationship with chairs due to my joints being stiffer than normal (many autistics have an issue with looser joints, but the opposite even if less common is also related to autism), social anxiety makes me feel vulnerable being around other people with no easy escape route (both physically and figuratively), at the table there are many rules of behavior and it is difficult when others expect you to guess them without them being explicit.
3) Sometimes when we talk about sensory difficulties in neurodiverse people, some people think it's a mental thing like "I convince myself that that texture is dangerous" or "I've given myself a rule not to combine these foods", something similar to OCD, which is not. Perhaps the confusion arises precisely from the fact that OCD is more common among autistic people than it is in the general population, so in these people the two disorders overlap. Most autistic people have sensory difficulties due to the way our brain works, which lights up like fireworks with certain seemingly harmless stimuli. We have issues with some foods for the same reasons some of us have difficulties with hugs and kisses, having a shower, dramatic temperature changes, clothes, flashing lights, and noise.
As a child or teenager, when I forced myself to eat something of the wrong consistency, I would vomit. If I chewed longer than my body allowed me to, I would vomit. If the food had the wrong smell, I would vomit.
It got a lot better after childbirth (i don't know why, maybe my body had had enough of vomiting all day long for 7 months and being able to eat nothing but cookies), I'm happy that now I can eat many foods I couldn't eat in the past,
but
I am still suffering the consequences of the hate and trauma I experienced due to my eating disorder.
If you're dealing with your child's eating disorder, pleasy don't be nasty: rejection trauma is more difficult to cure than the eating disorder itself.