Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is an eating disorder that may be confused with anorexia nervosa.
Clinical features:
(1) avoidance of certain foods leading to a restrictive diet
(2) fear of gastrointestinal symptoms or of negative consequences (choking, sickness, other) if certain foods are eaten
(3) often a history of sickness or traumatic event associated with eating the implicated food
(4) variable constipation
(5) variable nutritional disorders if intake inadequate
(6) variable weight loss or inability to gain weight
(7) impaired psychosocial function
(8) exclusion of other conditions
where:
• The condition has been likened to food-related PTSD.
The condition may be confused with anorexia nervosa but the patient is not afraid of weight gain and does not have a body image disorder.
