ARFID

American  

[ahr-fid] / ˈɑr fɪd /

abbreviation

1. Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, a disorder involving the avoidance of certain foods, a generally restricted or limited diet, or both, resulting in clinically significant nutritional, medical, or psychosocial impairment.

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Example Sentences

For those with ARFID, exposure to fear foods without proper preparation and support can heighten anxiety and reinforce avoidance behaviors.

From Slate • Jan. 4, 2025

For people with ARFID, food aversion—not body image distress—is at the core of their disorder.

From Slate • Jan. 4, 2025

Nine-year-old Otto from Hitchin, in Hertfordshire, has the condition ARFID, which stands for avoidant restrictive food intake disorder, meaning he avoids many different foods.

From BBC • Dec. 31, 2021

Gillian Harris, a psychologist at the University of Birmingham, says that while there have not been any studies on the prevalence of ARFID, from her experience about one in 500 children are affected.

From BBC • Dec. 31, 2021

I learned about this disorder from Virginia Sole-Smith’s great book The Eating Instinct, by the way, which has a whole chapter of interviews with people who have ARFID, many of whom have kids.

From Slate • May 10, 2021