New Delhi, June 30 (IANS). Nowadays, not only “picky eating”, i.e. the habit of selectively eating food, but also a serious condition is being seen in children, which is called ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder). A new study by scientists at Stanford Medicine has achieved great success in the treatment of this disease.
New Delhi, June 30 (IANS). Nowadays, not only the habit of “picky eating” but also a serious condition is being seen in children, which is called ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder). A new study by scientists at Stanford Medicine has achieved great success in the treatment of this disease.
According to the researchers, this is the first time that the treatment of an eating disorder like ARFID has been evaluated through a randomized controlled trial. This study was conducted on 98 children aged 6 to 12 years. Its findings have been published in the ‘Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry’.
Children suffering from ARFID show little interest in food or may be afraid of eating. In many cases, this problem starts from childhood itself and if timely treatment is not received, the physical development of children can be affected.
James Lock, the lead researcher of the study, said that for the first time the treatment of this disease has been tested scientifically. According to him, such scientific data is now available with the help of which better treatment can be given, especially to children of that age group in which this problem is seen most.
Two types of therapy were tested in this research. The first was family-based therapy and the second was individual motivational therapy. Both treatments were given online and each child received 14 sessions for four months.
Parents were given the main role in family-based therapy. They were taught how to gradually change the child’s eating habits. The entire family (parents, siblings, and therapist) attended the sessions together. It was also explained that the child is not doing this intentionally, rather it is a medical condition.
On the other hand, in individual therapy the child himself was motivated. In this, games, activities and imagination-based exercises were done with the children, such as creating imaginary restaurants or thinking about the food of different countries, so that their interest in food increases.
The results of the research were interesting. Children who received family-based therapy gained weight faster and showed improvement in their health. There was improvement in the symptoms of ARFID in both the groups, that is, both the methods were found to be effective to a great extent.
A girl involved in the study said that earlier she used to eat very limited things, but gradually she started trying new foods. The things which she used to avoid earlier, like eggs, avocado, curd and fruits, have now started liking them.
Researchers say that ARFID is not just a habit of tantrums or selective eating, but it is a real mental and physical problem. If it is ignored, children may suffer from nutritional deficiency, weakness, and development problems.
The study also found that ARFID is more common in children who have problems like anxiety, ADHD or autism. Many times children stop eating due to fear or bad experience, such as someone who has experienced choking before.
This problem is serious, but according to research the good thing is that its treatment is possible. Doctors say that with proper therapy and family support, a big change can be brought about in the eating habits of children.
–IANS
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