Lowestoft man shares experiences with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder as Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2023 comes to an end

A Lowestoft man has spoken out about his experiences with a lesser-known eating disorder and his hope that health services can improve treatment for people like him.

Adam Robertson, 31, has Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), a condition that sees people avoid certain food or food groups, typically for sensory reasons or after a distressing experience with food.

This comes as today marks the final day of Eating Disorder Awareness Week, which promotes eating disorder education and this year has a particular focus on males with eating disorders.

For Adam, viewing certain food negatively started at around the age of four when he was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a form of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

"It started with fruits and vegetables, or any foods which looked a bit odd to me," he said.

"It became noticeable when I was older that I wouldn't eat certain foods when I would go out for social occasions, which caused me to seek help."

And while Adam praised his GP for trying to help him, he said he has chosen to go to London to meet with a private clinician after he was left unimpressed with NHS services.

He the wellbeing service were only able to offer him 12 week course of therapy to help him overcome his issues with food.

"With ARFID, treatment needs to be longer, as it's occurred over such a long-established time," he said.

"There seems to be a bit of a lack of understanding in society, and more needs to be done to highlight ARFID to get people the right help."

He said the jury is still out on the cause of ARFID, but many believe is could be linked to autism as well as trauma around food, and added that research needs to be prioritised.

He also said media representation of eating disorders are often centred around anorexia, a disorder where people attempt to keep their weight as low as possible and restrict food for the purpose of getting thinner.

"That is not what everyone has, that doesn't represent every eating disorder. I do feel there is a misrepresentation of the whole spectrum of food disorders," he said.

"I think we need to be more socially aware about ARFID. It doesn't mean people are just being rude or being fussy, it's just that some people struggle to eat a wide variety of foods."

This year Eating Disorder Awareness Week has a particular focus on eating disorders in men, and encourages people to learn about eating disorders that are less represented.

According to eating disorder charity Beat, 1.25 million people have an eating disorder in the UK, with just eight per cent having a diagnosis of anorexia, while 47 per cent have OFSED (Other specified feeding or eating disorder), 22 per cent have binge eating disorder and 19 per cent have bulimia.

Just 5 per cent of people living with an eating disorder have ARFID.

The latest statistics estimate that a quarter of people with eating disorders in the UK are male. This would mean that over 300,000 men in the UK have an eating disorder.

If you’re worried about your own or someone else’s health, you can contact Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity, on 0808 801 0677 or beateatingdisorders.org.uk.