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ARFID NHS England 20 January 2026

DormouseAtRest_25

ARFID - avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.

Children and young people.

NHS Community Eating Disorder Service (CEDS).

News 20 January 2026 - "NHS staff to train teachers, school nurses, and GPs to spot eating disorders":

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2026/01/nhs-staff-to-train-teachers-school-nurses-and-gps-to-spot-eating-disorders/

NHS England National Guidance 20 January 2026 "Eating disorder services for children and young people: National guidance":

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/eating-disorder-services-for-children-and-young-people-national-guidance/

However, a big gap in service provision remains:

...services in support of adults experiencing ARFID.

  • in reply to housewhite

    Hi! That’s fine! My university initially helped me fund some sessions with a dietitian actually (I don’t remember how I managed to find her but I was very lucky as I had seen other dieticians previously and none of them had been able to help). She does sessions online, but it’s really expensive so I now only see her occasionally when I need more support. She is amazing and extremely supportive and is a registered dietitian. If working with her is not feasible, maybe you could contact her and she might be able to help you find support or recommend someone else. This is her website https://www.dalianutrition.com 

    There is also a book about ARFID, which looks quite good. I have it and it seemed quite good and gave some practical advice (though I haven’t tried any of their techniques). I just thought I would mention it in case it is helpful https://www.amazon.co.uk/Picky-Eaters-Recovery-Book-Restrictive/dp/1108796176

    Through the NHS you can probably also get a referral for CBT though for me that wasn’t helpful. 

    Feel free to message me again :) happy to share my experiences! 

    Best,

    Ann

  • I don't think the issue is knowing how to spot eating disorders, I think the issue is knowing how to support people!

    I work in a SEN school and have been tasked with setting up some kind of exposure to food / eating / 'fun with food' programme. I've said this won't be a quick turn around because I want as much training as possible first because I don't want to unintentionally cause more harm or reduce the number of safe foods a child has. But there's also so few courses out there and so little support for ARFID at the moment! 

    This is a step in the right direction but we're still already so far behind! 

  • Hi Ann

    Hope you dont mind me contacting you but I have a daughter in a similar situation. No ARFID support in our area too. Just wondering how you came about finding a dietian ? It would be really helpful to know where to start looking

    Mnay Thanks and hope all is OK 

    Katrin

  • Yes … I had a really bad experience. I am autistic, have IBS and have experienced digestive issues my whole life- I have also always been quite picky about food and sensitive to textures etc. It all got worse a few years ago and I would loose a lot of weight unintentionally and end up eating only a few safe foods as I was so anxious about triggering the digestive issues. I am also very bad at telling when I am hungry or full. I got misdiagnosed with anorexia nervosa even though I was terrified of loosing weight and it was very distressing- this misdiagnosis caused so much damage. A few years later I was reassessed and they said it was a misdiagnosis and I have ARFID- they then said - ‘we don’t treat that’ and that was it - luckily I had my own support system and dietitian by then who has been amazing at understanding about autism and how stress and everything impacts digestion and eating. But still, the NHS in my area is failing individuals with ARFID- I still think it is better for them not to do anything rather than misdiagnose and give inappropriate treatment- I think they must have known things didn’t quite fit the previous diagnosis but they tried very hard to fit me into their box/label.