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Eating Disorders

Weight Outcomes in Cisgender Girls and Boys with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder During Virtual Family-Based Treatment

(PS6-A11) Weight Outcomes in Cisgender Girls and Boys with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder During Virtual Family-based Treatment

Friday, November 17, 2023
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM PST
Location: Regency Ballroom, Level 7
Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a feeding and eating disorder newly classified within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. ARFID is characterized by significantly restricted food intake, unrelated to body weight or shape concerns, which results in the failure to meet nutritional needs. Consequences of ARFID are severe including curtailed growth in children and adolescents, substantial nutritional deficiencies, significant psychosocial impairment, and dependence on nutritional supplements. Compared with other eating disorders, ARFID may be more common in boys compared with girls. Currently, little is known about possible gender differences in treatment outcomes for patients with ARFID. It is critical to understand any potential gender differences in treatment outcomes given most ARFID treatments were adapted from those developed and evaluated on primarily cisgender girls with eating disorders. Given most patients with ARFID require weight restoration, the objective of this study was to compare weight outcomes in cisgender girls and boys receiving family-based treatment for ARFID. We examined weight outcomes of patients aged 6-24+ with ARFID at a virtual family-based eating disorder treatment program. Weight was obtained by caregivers twice weekly and entered into the HIPAA compliant medical record platform. Prior to beginning treatment, caregivers were given extensive training on weighing patients at home. Patients are weighed first thing in the morning, after voiding, before eating or drinking anything, and wearing light clothing. Descriptive analyses and paired t-tests were used to compare weight outcomes at 16-weeks of treatment between self-identified cisgender girls and boys diagnosed with ARFID. Patients (N=70) had an average age of M=15.4 (SD=4.3); 68.5% (N=48) self-identified as cisgender girls and 31.4% as cisgender boys. All patients required weight restoration. There were no significant differences between boys and girls in current percent of expected body weight at treatment admission By 16-weeks of treatment there were no significant differences in weight gain by gender. Cisgender boys with ARFID had gained, on average 7.2% (SD=5.7) of their expected body weight and cisgender girls gained 8%  (SD=6.5) of their expected body weight. Results indicate that an enhanced FBT treatment model delivered virtually is effective for weight restoration in youth with ARFID. FBT also appears to be similarly effective for cisgender boys and girls for weight restoration as no significant differences were observed between groups at 16-weeks of treatment. This is important given that FBT was developed with primarily cisgender girl samples.