ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) is an eating disorder that is defined not by weight or body image, but by the avoidance of specific foods. Those affected often develop intense fears, aversions, or reactions of disgust that severely restrict their eating behavior.

In therapeutic practice, typical patterns emerge that help to recognize and better understand ARFID.

Sensory Hypersensitivity Many affected individuals avoid foods based on sensory factors: taste, texture, smell, or color.

• Practice example: A preschool-age child eats only light-colored bread, plain pasta, and fries; everything else is immediately rejected. Textures like mushy vegetables or creamy sauces trigger immediate feelings of disgust.

• Practice example: A young adult reports that she never touches green foods because the color appears highly unpleasant to her, regardless of taste or experience.

This sensory sensitivity can be so strong that even new foods that appear “unsafe” purely based on appearance or smell are not accepted, even if they would be healthy.

Fear of Physical Reactions For many sufferers, eating certain foods triggers strong anxiety, often associated with physical reactions: gagging, nausea, stomach pain, or loss of control.

• Practice example: A teenager refuses meat because he remembers experiencing mild vomiting after a bite of meat once.

• Practice example: The fear quickly transfers to other foods with similar textures, so that the selection becomes increasingly restricted.

This fear is not consciously controllable—sufferers cannot “just try it” without feeling significant internal tension.

Avoidance Behavior in Everyday Life Avoidance does not only manifest during meals at home: it affects social situations, school, restaurant visits, or invitations.

• Practice example: An adult avoids business lunches because only a few “safe” foods are available.

• Practice example: A teenager refuses to eat school meals, brings only self-prepared, familiar foods, and no longer participates in meals in the school cafeteria.

Over time, this avoidance can severely restrict daily life, promote social isolation, and increase psychological stress.

Eating as a Source of Stress, Not Pleasure Unlike Anorexia or Bulimia, eating in ARFID is not a means of control or emotional compensation, but is always burdensome:

• The selection of food becomes smaller and smaller.

• Meals are highly ritualized or restricted to a few safe foods.

• Trying something new triggers fear and disgust.

• Practice example: A middle-aged patient eats only three different ready-made meals. New recipes or eating at friends’ houses triggers such strong internal tension that he prefers to cancel the appointment.

Why These Mechanisms Are So Significant Understanding fear, disgust, and avoidance behavior is crucial to correctly diagnosing and specifically treating ARFID:

• The mechanisms explain why simple nutritional counseling or “just trying it” often fails.

• Therapeutic approaches must be gradual, cautious, and individualized.

• Sensitivity to sensory, emotional, and physical reactions is central.

Conclusion ARFID is not simply “picky eating,” but a serious eating disorder that can severely restrict eating behavior and quality of life.

• Typical features: Fear, disgust, sensory hypersensitivity.

• Consequences: Severely restricted food selection, social restrictions, physical risks.

• Therapeutically important: Targeted work on fears, avoidance patterns, and building safety during eating.