A Study of Treatment Approaches for Children and Adolescents with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder

Abstract

Eating disorders negatively affect people’s health. Common eating disorders including binge eating disorder, anorexia, and bulimia nervosa which are widely researched by researchers. New eating disorder, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) introduced in DSM-5 which received less attention from researchers and the public. The research presented that children and adolescents are disproportionally affected by ARFID, but currently, there is a lack of understanding of ARFID and its treatments. This systemic review extracts relevant studies from three databases to identify available treatments of ARFID and assess the efficacy of each treatment. It aims to bring the public’s attention to ARFID, preventing delays in seeking healthcare services. Also, this review is designed to guide healthcare professionals for ARFID treatment selections as well as bringing suggestions for future research directions. Three databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus) were searched from 2013–2023 for studies that relevant to treatments for children and adolescents with ARFID. 7 studies were included in this review. It reported that treatments for managing children and adolescents with ARFID in all 7 studies presented positive effects in the reduction of ARFID symptoms. The biggest limitation of the finding was the small sample size. The evidence showed that all different types of ARFID treatment had an improvement in ARFID symptoms. However, the definitive conclusion cannot be drawn before conducting research with an increased sample size. Children and adolescents’ motivation for changing eating behaviours and parent education can partially determine the efficacy of treatments.