UK eating disorder charity says calls from people with Arfid have risen sevenfold

Arfid is much less well-known than anorexia or bulimia and can be especially challenging to diagnose. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA

The number of people in the UK who have a previously little-known eating disorder, in which those afflicted avoid many foods, has risen sevenfold in five years, figures show.

The eating disorders charity Beat received 295 calls about avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (Arfid) in 2018 – comprising 2% of its 20,535 inquiries that year. However, it received 2,054 calls last year, which accounted for one in 10 of its 20,535 requests for help. Many were from children and young people or their parents.