What is Arfid? Eating disorder is more than being picky about the food you will eat

South China Morning Post

7 days ago

'No, not even strawberries,' is something Mara says a lot. She cannot eat oranges – in fact, almost no other solid fruit, or vegetables – nor cold cooked meat.
She was breaking out in a sweat before her workplace's Christmas dinner, she says.
'For around 30 years, I thought I was just stupid
when it came to food and was acting like a toddler.'
That was until she spotted a child with similar eating habits on Instagram. 'The mother described her child's behaviour with the word Arfid. I thought: Oh my God, that's me.'
Arfid can lead people to reject foods because of their smell, taste, consistency or appearance. Photo: Shutterstock
Arfid stands for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, a condition identified some years ago, and it is not just about being a picky eater.
'It's crazy when you live with it your whole life and then suddenly have a name for it,' says Mara, now in her mid-30s. 'There's a difference between things I don't like and things I can't eat,' she adds.