Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) perhaps you had this as a child

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

Growing up in the 1960s I never heard of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder I only knew did not eat like other children. The elementary school I attended did not have a cafeteria so we ate at our desks. I packed lunch during the first -3rd and fifth grades but 4th grade was a nightmare. The food came on a cart and the wheels made a certain sound as it neared our classroom.

Food made me nervous

My stomach would be in knots and the sound and sight of the lunch cart made me ill. I would gag at the sight of mashed potatoes and peas and the naked hot dog on a bun was not appealing. I would hide food inside of my desk and throw it away at the end of the day because I could not eat it.

At home, I drank soup from chicken noodle soup but did not eat the chicken or noodles. I drank soup from pinto beans and did not eat the beans. I licked the salt and butter from the corn on the cob but did not eat the corn. No one in my family ever addressed the issue they simply catered to it.

Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a fairly new eating disorder. Children with ARFID are extremely selective eaters and sometimes have little interest in eating food. They may eat a limited variety of preferred foods, which can lead to poor growth and poor nutrition.

What makes some children eat differently?

I know I was born 4 weeks premature and only weighed 4 pounds. As an adult, I found out my father was a long-time heroin addict. I don't know if these things played a part in my aversion to food but the aversion was real. The other children ate potatoes, cucumbers, and tomatoes right out of the garden but I did not. My friends and cousins climbed trees to get cherries, apples, and pears. They ate grapes, strawberries, and plumbs but I did not.

I got teased in high school because I did not eat like others and was told that was why I was so skinny. When I spent the night with cousins or went to church events where lunch was served my stomach would be in knots and I was afraid of my picky eating being pointed out. I wondered about why I was this way and now wish someone had asked a doctor about it.

Is this disorder hereditary?

My younger brother was also a finicky eater who enjoyed burned pork chops and did not eat veggies or fruits just like me. but thankfully we both grew out of it. Our middle brother had a normal appetite as did my daughter my middle child. My firstborn son and youngest son both had peculiar eating habits so it appears this is heredity.

Reading about Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) I firmly believe it describes me. There just was not such a diagnosis when I was a child so I was labeled a picky eater. I have heard stories from those who work in the mental health field about autistic children who only eat the same 3 or 4 foods and do not deviate.

I now wonder if I might have been somewhere on that spectrum. There are probably others like me who now as adults look at the labels and diagnoses that are available today and wonder if they were properly diagnosed if ther lives would have been different. Someone reading this article might find Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) could be an explanation for what was going on with them.