The Connection Between Food Aversions and Eating Disorders (Plus, Some Tips for Healing)

Is your food aversion considered an eating disorder? Should you be worried about extreme food preferences? 

Preferring or not preferring some foods is normal, and by no means a cause for alarm. If food aversions start to induce anxiety, restrict meal options, or interfere with your health and social life, however, it could be a sign that you’ve crossed into harmful territory.

In recent years, nutrition counselors and psychologists have been paying closer attention to the blurred lines that can exist between “picky eating” tendencies and potentially more concerning behaviors. The American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine characterizes picky eating as a distaste for the texture, aroma, flavor, temperature, liquidity, color, or spice level of certain foods. 

Picky eating often develops in childhood, and many adults outgrow their pickiness or learn how to adapt their eating choices. For some, those food aversions become rigid over time, leading to inflexible meal rituals, emotional distress, malnutrition, or, in severe cases, eating disorder symptoms. This is the point at which clinical intervention might be necessary.

So, how can you tell whether it’s just a selective eating habit or a deeper fixation that could pose legitimate health risks? Let’s explore the connection between food aversions and eating disorder behaviors, along with a few actionable steps to nurture recovery.

When Food Aversions Exceed Picky Eating

Food aversions stem from many different causes, including: 

• Heightened sensitivity

• Intolerance

• Appetite fluctuations

• Negative experiences (whether real or perceived)

These aversions range from inconvenient but manageable to intense and overwhelming. On the more extreme end of this continuum, food aversions can also escalate into a clinical diagnosis known as Avoidant-Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). 

Unlike other eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia, ARFID isn’t necessarily about weight control or body image distortions. Rather, ARFID is a severe disgust or sheer lack of interest in food, often driven by fear that eating will cause adverse consequences like vomiting, abdominal pain, allergic reactions, nausea, illness, and choking.

ARFID frequently co-occurs alongside other mental health issues or neurodivergencies, such as: 

• OCD

• ADHD

• Autism

• Anxiety

• Depression

While this condition only affects an estimated 4.5 to 11 percent of folks across the globe, the impacts are serious. If untreated, ARFID can lead to acute weight loss, low bone density, irregular heart rate, nutrient deficiencies, social isolation, and interference with daily functioning. 

The Difference Between Food Aversions and ARFID

All ARFID cases feature some type of food aversion, but not all food aversions turn into ARFID. These two conditions share many similarities, but there are a few subtle distinctions to be aware of, too.

Here’s a quick cheat sheet of how to spot the difference between moderate aversion to certain foods versus the more debilitating symptoms of ARFID:

• Motivation: Most food aversions are about taste, preference, or sensory issues. ARFID is about an intense fear, anxiety, repulsion, or disinterest in food.

• Duration: Food aversions often taper off naturally over time or with frequent exposure. ARFID can persist for several years and limit one’s ability to function. 

• Intensity: While food aversion can result in picky eating, it may not be severe enough for acute malnutrition. Whereas a person with ARFID is more likely to refuse entire food groups and suffer from extreme weight loss or nutrient deficiencies. 

Start Healing from Food Aversions That Impact Functioning and Nutrition

It may be time to seek help if your aversion to certain foods is starting to cause emotional distress, health concerns, or a disruption in normal activities and routines (such as avoiding restaurants or missing out on social events). Research indicates a strong correlation between food aversions and eating disorders, but with the right interventions, you can heal. 

Here are some tips to cultivate a more nourishing relationship with food. 

Begin with a multidisciplinary framework.

Whether or not your food aversions meet the criteria for ARFID, the first step toward healing is to assemble an inclusive care team with multidisciplinary clinicians. In most cases, this includes a physician, registered dietitian, mental health counselor, and, in some cases, an occupational therapist (if you have sensory issues). All of them should have experience with the root causes of food aversions and their connection to eating disorders.  

Practice gentle, incremental exposure to foods.

One of the most useful tools for confronting food aversions is gradual exposure in a safe and low-pressure environment. Rather than forcing yourself to reintroduce all “fear foods” at once, start with small, manageable increments of exposure. For example, looking at, smelling, and touching the food, and slowly working up to tasting, chewing, and swallowing.

Research shows that breaking exposure therapy down into stages leads to more sustainable outcomes in quelling fear, reducing psychosocial impairment, overcoming sensory issues, and resolving nutrient deficiencies. 

Treat your sensitivities and co-occurring issues

If you’re sensitive to the textures, flavors, or aromas of certain foods, this might not be just an inconvenient, but otherwise benign, quirk. Anywhere from 13 to 50% of folks with ARFID or intense food aversions also have a co-occurring neurodivergency that leads to sensory issues. 

An occupational therapist can teach you how to use sensory integration techniques (such as modifying the presentation of food on your plate or adjusting the level of noise or light at meal times) in order to manage stress from hypersensitivities.  

It’s also important to treat any unresolved trauma, anxiety, hormone imbalances, gastrointestinal symptoms, or other conditions that can reinforce a food aversion. For example, someone who once nearly choked on a specific food might require trauma-informed therapy to heal from the mental and emotional impacts of that distressing experience. 

Balance structure with patience and flexibility.

Healing from a food aversion takes some time, often months or even years. It also rarely follows a linear path. As with other restrictive eating patterns, structure is beneficial when learning how to heal from food aversions, but remember to be patient with yourself and leave room for flexibility. The goal is not to strive for perfection, but to focus on sustained progress.

Having support on this journey is key. Project HEAL runs a free, virtual meal support group each week, where you can practice eating in a structured environment if you’re struggling to do it alone.

Ready to Start Healing? Project HEAL Can Help

It might surprise you that food aversions can be more severe than just picky eating, but this realization can also be the first step toward healing. Healing is possible, treatments are available, and you deserve to experience true freedom in this area.

Ready to move past the anxieties that fuel your food aversions? Project HEAL removes barriers to healing, so you can access the help you need. Learn about our programs now.