When eating is a burden
Study identifies new group of people affected by little-known eating disorder
People with the eating disorder ARFID severely restrict their food intake in terms of quantity or variety - this leads to physical and psychological impairments. The disorder usually begins in childhood and has so far mainly been studied in children or people who are underweight. A new study by Leipzig University Medicine now shows that adults with increased body weight can also suffer from ARFID. The results were published in the journal "Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics".
For many people, eating is associated with pleasure - but for those affected by ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder), it is often associated with anxiety, stress or disgust. The disorder manifests itself in the rejection of certain foods, for example because of their smell, consistency or fear of swallowing or vomiting. A greatly reduced interest in food can also be a sign. In contrast to other eating disorders such as anorexia, the desire to lose weight does not play a role. Nevertheless, the risk of malnutrition and secondary illnesses is similarly high.
The team led by Dr. Ricarda Schmidt and Prof. Dr. Anja Hilbert has been researching ARFID at Leipzig University Medicine for years. Among other things, they developed a diagnostic interview to identify this eating disorder, which is now used worldwide. "Our current results show that ARFID also occurs in adults with a higher body weight - albeit with different symptoms in some cases. These patients need specific diagnostics and adapted treatment options," says Dr. Ricarda Schmidt, head of the study.
Symptoms often misinterpreted in everyday clinical practice
For the current study, 369 adults were surveyed online, and a clinical interview was also conducted with some of them. This allowed both self-reported symptoms and official diagnoses to be recorded and correlated with body weight and other health characteristics. The survey revealed that 34 percent of adults with ARFID had an increased body weight. This group was more likely than those with low weight to exhibit picky eating behavior, greater everyday stress and an increased risk of metabolic diseases. Particularly striking: 100 percent of those affected with increased weight reported psychosocial impairments - compared to 65 percent of those who were underweight.
One aspect that has received little attention to date is that many of the people surveyed with a higher weight stated that they were very concerned about their figure and weight. However, these concerns are often misinterpreted in everyday clinical practice. "ARFID often goes unrecognized, especially in people with a higher body weight, because weight concerns are mistakenly interpreted as an indication of other eating disorders or as a result of dieting behavior," explains Schmidt. As a result, a correct diagnosis is often not made - with potentially serious consequences for care, says the scientist. In order to change this, diagnostics need to be revised and healthcare professionals need to be made more aware. Existing screening procedures should be supplemented with weight-independent identification features. Therapeutic approaches also need to be adapted - both psychotherapeutically and pharmacologically, the study authors recommend.
"With our current results, we are closing an important research gap and expanding the understanding of the disease to a group that has received little attention to date," says Schmidt, a behavioral medicine researcher. Follow-up studies on the development and treatment of the disease are already being planned at Leipzig University Medicine.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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