New study highlights specific recovery needs of youth with ARFID

ARFID Characteristics During Hospital Treatment

ARFID stands for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. ARFID is an eating disorder where someone avoids food, but not due to concerns about weight or body shape. Unlike anorexia nervosa, where people’s disordered eating focuses on appearance and weight loss, ARFID food issues are often caused by things like lack of interest in food, having a small appetite, strong reactions to the texture or smell of food, or fear of eating. Compared to those with anorexia nervosa, children and teens with ARFID are more likely to be male, and are often younger when their disorder starts.

Although ARFID is a newer diagnosis, it is now getting more attention because it can seriously affect health. ARFID can lead to malnutrition, extreme weight loss, and problems with social interactions and daily life. Studies suggest that over half of young people with ARFID may need to be hospitalized because of the disorder. Understanding how ARFID affects people in the hospital could help doctors and medical teams treat it better, especially since current treatments are based on anorexia nervosa research.

We were interested to see this recent study that investigated the specific recovery needs of young people in hospital for ARFID treatment.

How the Study Was Conducted

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco studied eight years of medical records from 36 young people with ARFID and 355 with anorexia nervosa, who were all treated by the university’s Inpatient Eating Disorders Programme. Patient ages ranged from 9- to 25-years-old. Their medical records included information on heart rate, blood pressure, blood test results, height, weight, length of stay in the hospital, and the nutrition plan they needed for recovery. The researchers used this data to look for patterns in their medical conditions.

Key Findings

• Young male patients with ARFID had higher levels of haemoglobin (a molecule that carries oxygen in the blood) than young female patients with ARFID. However, male patients had lower heart rates, lower cholesterol, and needed more nutrition to become healthy enough to leave hospital.
• Young people with ARFID had lower body mass index (BMI) and vitamin D levels compared to those with anorexia nervosa. They also had higher heart rates than those with anorexia nervosa.

What These Findings Mean for ARFID

The researchers suggest that doctors and medical teams should pay attention to the medical differences between ARFID and anorexia nervosa, and the differences between male and female patients with ARFID. Understanding these differences will help them choose the right treatment. The researchers especially recommend closely monitoring the heart health of male patients with ARFID to avoid heart-related health issues, and meeting their higher nutritional needs by starting their nutrition plans at higher kilocalories than are currently given when starting ARFID treatment.

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Link to the scientific paper: Nagata, J.M., Chaphekar, A.V., Low, P. et al. Clinical characteristics of hospitalized male adolescents and young adults with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). J Eat Disord 13, 3 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-024-01171-0