This ‘silent eating disorder’ is not related to weight or body image

Earlier this year, Hannah, an 8-year-old girl from Los Angeles, went viral for videos she posted online of herself trying different foods, documenting her reactions, and ranking them on a scale of 1 to 10. The clips aren’t just frivolous forays into the world of weird foods: They’re a form of exposure therapy for Hannah, who suffers from a little-known eating disorder called avoidant-restrictive food disorder, or ARFID, sometimes called “the silent eating disorder.”

• What it is: The disorder, which affects between 0.5 and 5 percent of children and adults in the general population, is different from other eating disorders that focus on negative body image or a desire to lose weight. Instead, patients with the condition are afraid or anxious about consuming the food itself, which limits their food intake and can lead to social isolation and long-term health problems such as weight loss, stunted growth and nutritional deficiencies, according to CNN and USA TodayAccording to the National Eating Disorders Association, ARFID was officially added as an eating or feeding disorder diagnosis to the DSM-5 in 2013, according to ABC News.