This week at The Link we are recognising Eating Disorders Awareness Week 28th February to 5th March 2024.
The aim of Eating Disorders Awareness Week is to give an insight into the difficulties around eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa , bulimia nervosa, binge-eating and others. This week is to raise awareness of how important it is to seek support for
early interventions to be put into place, access treatments and decrease the stigma around eating disorders.
This year Beat Eating Disorders charity has decided to shine a light on ARFID and get the attention it deserves. Avoidant/ restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) can be a misunderstood eating disorder and can have serious impacts on an individual's health if not treated. This condition is characterised by the individual avoiding certain foods or types of food, having restricted intake in terms of overall amount eaten, or both.
Some signs of ARFID can be:
● Eating a reasonable range of foods but overall having much less food than is needed to stay healthy.
● Finding it difficult to recognise when hungry.
● Feeling full after only a few mouthfuls and struggling to eat more.
● Taking a long time over mealtimes/finding eating a ‘chore’.
● Missing meals completely, especially when busy with something else.
● Sensitivity to aspects of some foods, such as the texture, smell, or temperature.
● Appearing to be a “picky eater”.
● Always having the same meals.
● Always eating something different to everyone else.
● Only eating food of a similar colour (e.g. beige).
● Attempting to avoid social events where food would be present.
● Being very anxious at mealtimes, chewing food very carefully, taking small sips and bites, etc.
● Weight loss (or in children, not gaining weight as expected).
● Developing nutritional deficiencies, such as anaemia through not having enough iron in the diet.
● Needing to take supplements to make sure nutritional and energy needs are met.
You can contact Beat by:
0808 801 0677 (England)
0808 801 0433 (Wales)
Below are some useful websites for support and information on ARFID and eating disorders:
https://edaw.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/