- Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is an eating disorder where people severely restrict food due to fear, sensory sensitivities, or low interest — not body image concerns — causing significant health and social problems
- Unlike normal picky eating, ARFID involves intense distress, extremely narrow food choices, nutritional deficiencies, weight loss, and serious disruption to daily life and social activities
- Prevalence ranges from 0.35% to 6.4% depending on region, primarily affecting children and teens, with average diagnosis at age 11 and higher male representation than other disorders
- Treatment approaches include parental control strategies, cognitive behavioral therapy, family-based treatment, food therapy, and sequential oral sensory methods to gradually reduce food-related fear and anxiety
- A specialized protocol combining psychology, hypnosis, and neuro-linguistic programming shows 90% success for adults and 65% for children, often achieved in single session
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