Editorial: Parental Support Increases Food Volume in Childhood Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, but What About Food Variety?

Central to avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a pattern of food restriction leading to impairments in growth, nutrition, and psychosocial functioning. Some children with ARFID do not eat enough food overall (insufficient volume), some do not eat enough different kinds of food (insufficient variety), and some struggle with both challenges. Since its introduction to the psychiatric nomenclature, ARFID has garnered research attention with leading scientists working to adapt existing evidence-based eating disorder treatments for application to ARFID. One such candidate treatment is family-based treatment (FBT), the strongest evidence-based approach for adolescents with another restrictive eating disorder-anorexia nervosa. As a principal architect of FBT, Lock is ideally suited to adapt and test FBT for ARFID. In this issue of the Journal, Lock et al.1 present findings from their recently completed randomized controlled trial (RCT) of FBT-ARFID compared with an individual psychoeducation and motivation treatment (PMT) in children 6 to 12 years old with low-weight ARFID.