Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a relatively new term, that was introduced in 2013.

ARFID is characterised by a pattern of eating that avoids certain foods or food groups entirely and/or is restricted in quantity (eating small amounts). 

 ARFID is different to other restrictive eating disorders in that:

​-ARFID isn't affected by a person’s beliefs about the size and shape of their body.

​-Someone with ARFID doesn't restrict their food intake for the specific purpose of losing weight.

​​-ARFID doesn’t feature some of the other behaviours that can be associated with anorexia, bulimia, or OSFED, such as over-exercising.

Whilst the exact causes of ARFID are unknown, it is thought that people who develop ARFID do so because of sensory sensitivity, fear of negative consequences or a lack of interest in eating. For example, they might be very sensitive to the taste, texture or appearance of certain types of food, or have had a distressing experience with food, such as choking, vomiting, infant acid reflux or other gastrointestinal conditions  – this may cause the person to develop feelings of fear and anxiety around food, and lead to them to avoiding food.

ARFID doesn’t discriminate and can affect anyone of any age, including babies, and can be diagnosed in children as young as 2 years-old.

My wife noticed our son Arthur had issues with his eating from birth and struggled to get the help he needed to get the diagnosis of ARFID, she was laughed out of clinics, told by medical professionals that our son was a "picky eater" and he would grow out of it. I've watched on myself, thinking the same as the professionals for years, until the day my wife hit a wall and considered herself a bad parent. It was at this point I knew that something wasn't right as no one knows their child better then their own mother. After 4 years of fighting, research and rejection, my wife finally managed to get an appointment with Dr. Gillian Harris, who diagnosed Arthur with ARFID and since then things have been totally different for us all as a family.

This brings me to my fundraising. My wife has done an amazing job spreading the word and helping other parents with children diagnosed and undiagnosed, to help them understand how to manage day to day life and the daily struggles we all go through trying to get our children to eat, something we take for granted. 

So now its my turn to help, and in doing so i'm taking on a half marathon, to raise as much money and awareness as i can to help this amazing charity succeed in its mission to remove the uncertainty, ambiguity and frustration experienced by parents, carers and individuals over obtaining a diagnosis and treatment by providing general advice that may improve their journey.

Thanks for taking time to read my page, anything you can spare from a penny to a pound will be greatly appreciated and go a long way to helping a worthy charity. 

John Boy x