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Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is a feeding or eating disorder characterized by an eating disturbance involving avoidance or restriction of food intake, such as low interest in eating, avoidance based on the sensory characteristics of food, or concern about aversive consequences of eating. This disturbance may result in significant weight loss or impaired growth, nutritional deficiencies, dependence on enteral feeding or oral nutritional supplements, or marked interference with psychosocial functioning. Unlike anorexia nervosa, ARFID is not characterized by concerns about body weight or shape (American Psychiatric Association, 2022).
Author and reviewer
Editorial responsibilityReferences and further reading
- Mammel, K. A., & Ornstein, R. M. (2017). Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder: A new eating disorder diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5. Current Opinion in Pediatrics, 29(4), 407–413. View source
- Di Cara, M., Rizzo, C., Corallo, F., Cardile, D., Calabrò, R. S., Quartarone, A., Buda, M., & Cucinotta, F. (2023). Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder: A narrative review of types and characteristics of therapeutic interventions. Children, 10(8), 1297. View source
How to cite this entry
Encyclopedia of Nutritional Psychology. (2026). Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). The Center for Nutritional Psychology.
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