Melbourne researchers have successfully tested a new therapy for a complex and increasingly common eating disorder among teenagers.

The research found that an enhanced treatment model, developed by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), can curb symptoms of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in adolescents while addressing related mental health symptoms.

ARFID, affecting up to 2 per cent of young people, is associated with eating a low variety or quantity of foods due to avoidance of specific tastes, texture, smells or temperatures, a general lack of interest in food or concern that eating will result in pain or discomfort. It can lead to weight loss, delayed growth, malnutrition, lower bone density and psychosocial challenges.

The disorder is not related to body shape or image, appears at a younger age than other eating disorders and lacks a current, well-established treatment.

What is the new therapy for ARFID?

The research team piloted the therapy, combining an existing, evidence-based Family-Based Treatment (FBT) for eating disorders with a protocol for treating related emotional concerns, known together as FBT + UP-A.

The study involved 13 children aged, 13-18 years old, with a diagnosis of ARFID recruited from an eating disorder program in Melbourne. Published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, it found the treatment reduced symptoms of depression after a nine month treatment, which was also feasible and acceptable to families.

MCRI’S Dr Claire Burton said the therapy improved patients’ mood, reduced overall food avoidance and helped them reach a healthier weight.

“Due to the high co-occurrence of emotional disorders alongside ARFID in young people, we developed a new, two-phase approach that observes family eating habits, challenges inflexible and negative thinking, builds resilience and supports healthy, sustainable weight gain,” she said.

“We empowered parents and carers to address disordered eating by supporting their child to eat enough and also independently. The FBT + UP treatment can also help young people cope with feelings of distress and to reduce the use of avoidance as a way of coping with their eating challenges.”

Hope for eating disorder patients

Dr Burton said the study was among the first to target both ARFID and related mental health problems and offered hope to young eating disorder patients.

“The findings show the potential of this new, combined eating disorder treatment to boost the confidence of adolescents with ARFID,” she said. “But larger studies are needed to establish whether this approach could be offered widely.”

Advancing care for ARFID

Butterfly Foundation CEO Dr Jim Hungerford commended the research and emphasised the importance of new, innovative treatment options for eating disorders, which impact over 1.1 million people in Australia annually.

“ARFID is one of Australia’s least understood eating disorders and it is increasing in prevalence,” he said.

“We regularly hear about the debilitating impact that ARFID has not only on the individual, but also on those who care for and support them. As Australia’s national charity for those impacted by eating disorders, Butterfly welcomes advancements in treatment and research that will allow more people and their families to access the person-centred, evidence-based care that will allow them to fully recover.”

Read more about MCRI’s Brain and Mind research.

Publication

Claire Burton, Louise Crowe, Erica Allan, Manya Singh, Sarah Eckhardt, Daniel Le Grange, Jill Ehrenreich-May, Susan Sawyer, Chelsea Finchett and Gina Dimitropoulos. ‘Family-Based Treatment + Unified Protocol for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: An Exploratory Feasibility and Treatment Response Study in a Case Series of Adolescents,’ International Journal of Eating Disorders. DOI: 10.1002/eat.70061

Available for interview

Dr Claire Burton MCRI researcher, Brain and Mind
Dr Louise Crowe, MCRI Team Leader, Brain and Mind

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About Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI)

Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) is the largest child health research institute in Australia committed to making discoveries and developing treatments to improve child and adolescent health in Australia and around the world. They are pioneering new treatments, trialling better vaccines and improving ways of diagnosing and helping sick babies, children and adolescents. It is one of the only research institutes in Australia to offer genetic testing to find answers for families of children with previously undiagnosed conditions.

Funding

The study was funded by an early to mid career allied health grant through The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.