Eating Disorders · Texas behavioral health news
Two treatments help ARFID, a common pediatric eating disorder, Stanford Medicine trial shows - Stanford Medicine
Eating Disorders (Google News) · June 29, 2026
In plain language
A Stanford Medicine clinical trial for avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) found that both family-based and individual therapies help children eat a wider variety of foods. While both methods improved overall symptoms, family-based therapy was more effective at helping children gain weight. This condition involves eating very little due to fear or low interest rather than body image concerns, and these findings provide the first evidence-based strategies to help families manage it.
AI-generated summary of the source article. Not medical advice.
Key takeaways
- ARFID is a childhood eating disorder driven by a fear of food or low appetite rather than body image issues.
- Family-based therapy empowers parents to manage their child's nutrition and is especially effective for weight gain.
- Individual therapy uses play-based methods to help children identify personal motivations for trying new foods.
- ARFID affects about 2% to 6% of children and can lead to serious growth delays and vitamin deficiencies.
- Both treatment types successfully helped children expand the variety of foods they were willing to eat.
Two treatments help ARFID, a common pediatric eating disorder, Stanford Medicine trial shows Stanford Medicine
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