Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesTypesDiagnosing Food AnxietyTreatmentCopingWhen to See a Provider
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Types
Diagnosing Food Anxiety
Treatment
Coping
When to See a Provider
When this concern about food affects a person’s day-to-day life, it can be limiting or even dangerous to their health.
This article covers the symptoms and causes of food anxiety, as well as how it’s treated. It also provides tips for coping with food anxiety if you or someone you love is dealing with it.
Global Stock / Getty Images
Characteristics, Traits, and Symptoms of Food Anxiety
Food anxiety can interfere with a person’s health, daily activities, and quality of life.This type of anxiety revolves around the fear of how food will affect the body.
Characteristics of food anxiety include:
Unlike other eating disorders, a person with food anxiety may not have problems with their body image or fear of weight gain.
People with food anxiety get tense when they think about or have to decide what to eat. The mental tension triggers a physical “fight or flight” reaction in the body.They may have a fast heartbeat and breathing, feel “butterflies” in their stomach, and become shaky or clammy.
Fight or Flight ResponseWhen our body thinks it is in danger, survival instincts kick in, and the sympathetic nervous system triggers the “fight or flight” response. When a person is having anxiety, the physiological response happens even though there is no real danger.
Fight or Flight Response
When our body thinks it is in danger, survival instincts kick in, and the sympathetic nervous system triggers the “fight or flight” response. When a person is having anxiety, the physiological response happens even though there is no real danger.
If food anxiety leads to not eating or eating very little, a person may experience symptoms like trouble concentrating, dizziness, fainting, and irritability.
Depending on how much a person has reduced their food intake and how long they have been eating less, they may also experience the following:
Food anxiety can also have social consequences. Some people with food anxiety avoid social events because they fear that the food choices will be overwhelming and anxiety-provoking. If a child is afraid to eat new foods, their family may never go out to eat or have dinner at a friend’s house.
What Is Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder?
Causes of Food Anxiety
Anxiety-based feeding disorders that involve a phobia about what food will do to the body are common in children. This type of anxiety often occurs in kids with sensory differences, including those withautism spectrum disorder.
Kids who have a specific phobia based on a negative experience can also develop food anxiety. For example, a child who is afraid of throwing up (emetophobia) may refuse to eat the food that they ate before they vomited, even if the food had nothing to do with why they got sick.
If food anxiety is related to body image distortion or fear of weight gain, it can lead to restrictive eating. Factors that can contribute to this kind of food anxiety include:
Types of Food Anxiety
The two major types of food anxiety are anxiety-based feeding disorders and eating disorders.
Anxiety-Based Feeding Disorders
According to theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM-5), food anxiety is not a specified feeding and eating disorder.
Anxiety-based feeding disorders occur whensomeone fears what could happen to them if they eat certain foodsor try new foods. The fear is not related to body image or a drive to be thin. Instead, a person might be scared of the texture of a food or worry about choking or having an allergic reaction if they eat a particular food. -
Anxiety-based feeding disorders are not the same aspicky eating. Picky eaters are particular about what foods they will eat, but they are usually able to stay nourished and maintain the expected weight and growth for their age.
A person with food anxiety’s refusal to eat can become so extreme that they get malnourished and require medical treatment. Anxiety around eating also has a major effect on a person’s mental health and daily life.
Avoidant-Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
ARFID is a common diagnosis in people with autism, ADHD, or OCD, as well as in people who have other sensory differences. Kids who struggle with trying new things in general may also develop ARFID.
People with ARFID often have a specific list of foods that they are comfortable eating and may have a hard time getting adequate nutrition from these limited diets. It can also be challenging for people with ARFID to maintain a weight that supports their health.
It’s important to note that, unlike other eating disorders, people with ARFID do not limit what they eat because they are afraid of gaining weight.
Some people even struggle with misdiagnosis because loved ones and even their healthcare providers have accused them of having an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia.
Eating Disorders
Food anxiety can also be related to a fear of gaining weight, body image distortion, or trying to be healthier. These worries can lead to over-restrictive eating and specific eating disorders, like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or orthorexia.
People with specific eating disorders may become fearful of the health consequences of eating certain foods or eating too much.
For example, a person who is worried about gaining weight may try to avoid fat, carbohydrates, and sugar. A person who wants to only eat “clean” foods may avoid any processed foods and only eat foods that are “natural.”
If a person has been eating less or only eating certain foods, a provider can use the following tools and strategies to figure out how to best help them:
Depending on how much weight a person has lost and how malnourished they are, providers may do some tests to assess their health:
Types of Eating Disorders
Treatment for Food Anxiety
The treatment for food anxiety depends on a person’s mental and physical health, as well as other factors like their age. Some people may need a combination of therapy and medication to help them cope with food anxiety.
Medical Care
People with food anxiety who are underweight may need medical treatment to address their physical health before they can address their mental health.If a person is severely malnourished, intravenous (IV) infusions or feeding tubes might be needed to help them recover.
Once a person is medically stable, they will need to build a treatment plan and support network so they can start to work through their food anxiety.
Nutritional Counseling
Adietitian or nutritionistwho can providenutritional counselingis an essential part of the support team for a person with food anxiety. These professionals can provide education about nutrients, foods, and portions based on a person’s size, age, and circumstances.
Therapy
The following types of therapy can be helpful for food anxiety:
Medication
Medications that treat anxiety and depression can also be helpful for people with food anxiety and eating disorders. A specific antidepressant called Remeron (mirtazapine) is sometimes suggested because it has increased appetite as a side effect, and it’s common for people taking the drug for depression to gain weight.
There is some evidence that Remeron may have effects on metabolism, but it’s not clear whether these changes always directly lead to weight gain.
While Remeron is an antidepressant first, it can be prescribed “off-label” to help stimulate appetite in people who need to gain weight.Since people with food anxiety can also have depression or another mental health condition like OCD, a provider may recommend they try Remeron instead of a more commonly prescribed antidepressant because the weight- and appetite-related side effects could be helpful.
Other medications can also stimulate appetite. For example, olanzapine is an atypical antipsychotic that can help with anxiety but often has weight gain as a side effect.Like Remeron, this side effect might be useful for someone who is underweight due to food anxiety.
Antihistamines can also help people with food anxiety feel hungrier. The boost in appetite can encourage healthy weight gain. Sometimes, antihistamines can also have a sedating effect, which may help people feel more calm about eating.
Self-Help
Once a person is nutritionally stable and has a support network set up, self-help techniques can help them cope with food anxiety.
Here are a few examples of self-help for food anxiety you can try:
Coping With Food Anxiety
Having food anxiety is challenging, but it is something that you can learn to manage. If you love someone who has food anxiety, there are also some specific things you can do to support them and take care of yourself.
Here are some tips for coping if you have food anxiety:
Here are some ways you can support someone who has food anxiety:
If you’re caring for a child with food anxiety, here are a few things to keep in mind while you’re helping them navigate their fears around eating:
How to Deal With Anxiety: Tips That Can Help
When to See a Healthcare Provider
Food anxiety has very negative effects on your physical and mental health. It’s very important that you reach out for support so that you can get help and avoid serious health consequences.
You should talk to a healthcare provider if:
If you or someone you know is struggling with eating disorders or body image issues, you can reach out to theNational Alliance for Eating DisordersHelpline at 1-866-662-1235. The helpline is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST and offers emotional support, education, and assistance finding eating disorder treatment and care.
Summary
Food anxiety can have serious physical and mental health consequences. Sometimes, the anxiety is related to concerns about body weight or image, but not always. A person may worry about choking on or having an allergic reaction to what they’re eating. One may be very anxious about getting sick from eating certain foods. Others have an aversion to the texture of a specific food.
No matter what triggers it, food anxiety can lead people to restrict what they eat so much that they become malnourished. A support team comprised of mental health providers and nutrition experts can help people learn how to manage their symptoms and nourish their bodies.
21 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.NIH National Institute of Mental Health.Any anxiety disorder.Children’s Hospital at Richmond at VCU.Beyond picky eating: anxiety-based feeding disorders, selective eating and solutions.Piqueras-Fiszman B, Jaeger SR.The incidental influence of memories of past eating occasions on consumers' emotional responses to food and food-related behaviors.Front Psychol. 2016;7:943. Published 2016 Jun 21. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00943Goodwin RD, Rodgin S, Goldman R, et al.Food allergy and anxiety and depression among ethnic minority children and their caregivers.J Pediatr. 2017;187:258-264.e1. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.04.055Levinson C, Sala M, Murray S, Ma J, Rodebaugh T, Lenze E.Diagnostic, clinical, and personality correlates of food anxiety during a food exposure in patients diagnosed with an eating disorder.Eat Weight Disord. 24(6):1079-1088. doi:10.1007/s40519-019-00669-wLevinson CA, Williams BM.Eating disorder fear networks: Identification of central eating disorder fears.Int J Eat Disord. 2020;53(12):1960-1973. doi:10.1002/eat.23382Scott-Solomon E, Boehm E, Kuruvilla R.The sympathetic nervous system in development and disease.Nat Rev Neurosci. 2021;22(11):685-702. doi:10.1038/s41583-021-00523-yGordan R, Gwathmey JK, Xie LH.Autonomic and endocrine control of cardiovascular function.World J Cardiol.2015;7(4):204-14. doi:10.4330/wjc.v7.i4.204National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).Mairs R, Nicholls D.Assessment and treatment of eating disorders in children and adolescents.Arch Dis Child. 2016;101(12):1168-1175. doi:10.1136/archdischild-2015-309481Anxiety & Depression Association of America.Fear of vomiting (emetophobia).KidsHealth.Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.NEDA.Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.MedlinePlus.Anorexia.Hennings JM, Heel S, Lechner K, et al.Effect of mirtazapine on metabolism and energy substrate partitioning in healthy men.JCI Insight. 2019;4(1):e123786. Published 2019 Jan 10. doi:10.1172/jci.insight.123786Gray E, Chen T, Menzel J, Schwartz T, Kaye WH.Mirtazapine and weight gain in avoidant and restrictive food intake disorder.J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2018;57(4):288-289. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2018.01.011Naguy A, Roshdy R, Amthal Al-Mutairi, Salem Alwetayan, Alamiri B.Mirtazapine improved eating patterns in avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.American Journal of Therapeutics. 2021;30(2):173-175. doi:10.1097/mjt.0000000000001338Schumacher, S.Appetite stimulants in the long-term care population.Kambanis PE, Kuhnle MC, Wons OB, et al.Prevalence and correlates of psychiatric comorbidities in children and adolescents with full and subthreshold avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.Int J Eat Disord. 2020;53(2):256-265. doi:10.1002/eat.23191Brewerton TD, D’Agostino M.Adjunctive use of olanzapine in the treatment of avoidant restrictive food intake disorder in children and adolescents in an eating disorders program.J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2017;27(10):920-922. doi:10.1089/cap.2017.0133ant’Anna AMGA, Hammes PS, Porporino M, et al.Use of cyproheptadine in young children with feeding difficulties and poor growth in a pediatric feeding program.J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2014;59(5):674-678. doi:10.1097/MPG.0000000000000467
21 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.NIH National Institute of Mental Health.Any anxiety disorder.Children’s Hospital at Richmond at VCU.Beyond picky eating: anxiety-based feeding disorders, selective eating and solutions.Piqueras-Fiszman B, Jaeger SR.The incidental influence of memories of past eating occasions on consumers' emotional responses to food and food-related behaviors.Front Psychol. 2016;7:943. Published 2016 Jun 21. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00943Goodwin RD, Rodgin S, Goldman R, et al.Food allergy and anxiety and depression among ethnic minority children and their caregivers.J Pediatr. 2017;187:258-264.e1. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.04.055Levinson C, Sala M, Murray S, Ma J, Rodebaugh T, Lenze E.Diagnostic, clinical, and personality correlates of food anxiety during a food exposure in patients diagnosed with an eating disorder.Eat Weight Disord. 24(6):1079-1088. doi:10.1007/s40519-019-00669-wLevinson CA, Williams BM.Eating disorder fear networks: Identification of central eating disorder fears.Int J Eat Disord. 2020;53(12):1960-1973. doi:10.1002/eat.23382Scott-Solomon E, Boehm E, Kuruvilla R.The sympathetic nervous system in development and disease.Nat Rev Neurosci. 2021;22(11):685-702. doi:10.1038/s41583-021-00523-yGordan R, Gwathmey JK, Xie LH.Autonomic and endocrine control of cardiovascular function.World J Cardiol.2015;7(4):204-14. doi:10.4330/wjc.v7.i4.204National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).Mairs R, Nicholls D.Assessment and treatment of eating disorders in children and adolescents.Arch Dis Child. 2016;101(12):1168-1175. doi:10.1136/archdischild-2015-309481Anxiety & Depression Association of America.Fear of vomiting (emetophobia).KidsHealth.Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.NEDA.Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.MedlinePlus.Anorexia.Hennings JM, Heel S, Lechner K, et al.Effect of mirtazapine on metabolism and energy substrate partitioning in healthy men.JCI Insight. 2019;4(1):e123786. Published 2019 Jan 10. doi:10.1172/jci.insight.123786Gray E, Chen T, Menzel J, Schwartz T, Kaye WH.Mirtazapine and weight gain in avoidant and restrictive food intake disorder.J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2018;57(4):288-289. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2018.01.011Naguy A, Roshdy R, Amthal Al-Mutairi, Salem Alwetayan, Alamiri B.Mirtazapine improved eating patterns in avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.American Journal of Therapeutics. 2021;30(2):173-175. doi:10.1097/mjt.0000000000001338Schumacher, S.Appetite stimulants in the long-term care population.Kambanis PE, Kuhnle MC, Wons OB, et al.Prevalence and correlates of psychiatric comorbidities in children and adolescents with full and subthreshold avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.Int J Eat Disord. 2020;53(2):256-265. doi:10.1002/eat.23191Brewerton TD, D’Agostino M.Adjunctive use of olanzapine in the treatment of avoidant restrictive food intake disorder in children and adolescents in an eating disorders program.J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2017;27(10):920-922. doi:10.1089/cap.2017.0133ant’Anna AMGA, Hammes PS, Porporino M, et al.Use of cyproheptadine in young children with feeding difficulties and poor growth in a pediatric feeding program.J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2014;59(5):674-678. doi:10.1097/MPG.0000000000000467
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
NIH National Institute of Mental Health.Any anxiety disorder.Children’s Hospital at Richmond at VCU.Beyond picky eating: anxiety-based feeding disorders, selective eating and solutions.Piqueras-Fiszman B, Jaeger SR.The incidental influence of memories of past eating occasions on consumers' emotional responses to food and food-related behaviors.Front Psychol. 2016;7:943. Published 2016 Jun 21. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00943Goodwin RD, Rodgin S, Goldman R, et al.Food allergy and anxiety and depression among ethnic minority children and their caregivers.J Pediatr. 2017;187:258-264.e1. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.04.055Levinson C, Sala M, Murray S, Ma J, Rodebaugh T, Lenze E.Diagnostic, clinical, and personality correlates of food anxiety during a food exposure in patients diagnosed with an eating disorder.Eat Weight Disord. 24(6):1079-1088. doi:10.1007/s40519-019-00669-wLevinson CA, Williams BM.Eating disorder fear networks: Identification of central eating disorder fears.Int J Eat Disord. 2020;53(12):1960-1973. doi:10.1002/eat.23382Scott-Solomon E, Boehm E, Kuruvilla R.The sympathetic nervous system in development and disease.Nat Rev Neurosci. 2021;22(11):685-702. doi:10.1038/s41583-021-00523-yGordan R, Gwathmey JK, Xie LH.Autonomic and endocrine control of cardiovascular function.World J Cardiol.2015;7(4):204-14. doi:10.4330/wjc.v7.i4.204National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).Mairs R, Nicholls D.Assessment and treatment of eating disorders in children and adolescents.Arch Dis Child. 2016;101(12):1168-1175. doi:10.1136/archdischild-2015-309481Anxiety & Depression Association of America.Fear of vomiting (emetophobia).KidsHealth.Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.NEDA.Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.MedlinePlus.Anorexia.Hennings JM, Heel S, Lechner K, et al.Effect of mirtazapine on metabolism and energy substrate partitioning in healthy men.JCI Insight. 2019;4(1):e123786. Published 2019 Jan 10. doi:10.1172/jci.insight.123786Gray E, Chen T, Menzel J, Schwartz T, Kaye WH.Mirtazapine and weight gain in avoidant and restrictive food intake disorder.J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2018;57(4):288-289. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2018.01.011Naguy A, Roshdy R, Amthal Al-Mutairi, Salem Alwetayan, Alamiri B.Mirtazapine improved eating patterns in avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.American Journal of Therapeutics. 2021;30(2):173-175. doi:10.1097/mjt.0000000000001338Schumacher, S.Appetite stimulants in the long-term care population.Kambanis PE, Kuhnle MC, Wons OB, et al.Prevalence and correlates of psychiatric comorbidities in children and adolescents with full and subthreshold avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.Int J Eat Disord. 2020;53(2):256-265. doi:10.1002/eat.23191Brewerton TD, D’Agostino M.Adjunctive use of olanzapine in the treatment of avoidant restrictive food intake disorder in children and adolescents in an eating disorders program.J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2017;27(10):920-922. doi:10.1089/cap.2017.0133ant’Anna AMGA, Hammes PS, Porporino M, et al.Use of cyproheptadine in young children with feeding difficulties and poor growth in a pediatric feeding program.J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2014;59(5):674-678. doi:10.1097/MPG.0000000000000467
NIH National Institute of Mental Health.Any anxiety disorder.
Children’s Hospital at Richmond at VCU.Beyond picky eating: anxiety-based feeding disorders, selective eating and solutions.
Piqueras-Fiszman B, Jaeger SR.The incidental influence of memories of past eating occasions on consumers' emotional responses to food and food-related behaviors.Front Psychol. 2016;7:943. Published 2016 Jun 21. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00943
Goodwin RD, Rodgin S, Goldman R, et al.Food allergy and anxiety and depression among ethnic minority children and their caregivers.J Pediatr. 2017;187:258-264.e1. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.04.055
Levinson C, Sala M, Murray S, Ma J, Rodebaugh T, Lenze E.Diagnostic, clinical, and personality correlates of food anxiety during a food exposure in patients diagnosed with an eating disorder.Eat Weight Disord. 24(6):1079-1088. doi:10.1007/s40519-019-00669-w
Levinson CA, Williams BM.Eating disorder fear networks: Identification of central eating disorder fears.Int J Eat Disord. 2020;53(12):1960-1973. doi:10.1002/eat.23382
Scott-Solomon E, Boehm E, Kuruvilla R.The sympathetic nervous system in development and disease.Nat Rev Neurosci. 2021;22(11):685-702. doi:10.1038/s41583-021-00523-y
Gordan R, Gwathmey JK, Xie LH.Autonomic and endocrine control of cardiovascular function.World J Cardiol.2015;7(4):204-14. doi:10.4330/wjc.v7.i4.204
National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).
Mairs R, Nicholls D.Assessment and treatment of eating disorders in children and adolescents.Arch Dis Child. 2016;101(12):1168-1175. doi:10.1136/archdischild-2015-309481
Anxiety & Depression Association of America.Fear of vomiting (emetophobia).
KidsHealth.Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.
NEDA.Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.
MedlinePlus.Anorexia.
Hennings JM, Heel S, Lechner K, et al.Effect of mirtazapine on metabolism and energy substrate partitioning in healthy men.JCI Insight. 2019;4(1):e123786. Published 2019 Jan 10. doi:10.1172/jci.insight.123786
Gray E, Chen T, Menzel J, Schwartz T, Kaye WH.Mirtazapine and weight gain in avoidant and restrictive food intake disorder.J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2018;57(4):288-289. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2018.01.011
Naguy A, Roshdy R, Amthal Al-Mutairi, Salem Alwetayan, Alamiri B.Mirtazapine improved eating patterns in avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.American Journal of Therapeutics. 2021;30(2):173-175. doi:10.1097/mjt.0000000000001338
Schumacher, S.Appetite stimulants in the long-term care population.
Kambanis PE, Kuhnle MC, Wons OB, et al.Prevalence and correlates of psychiatric comorbidities in children and adolescents with full and subthreshold avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.Int J Eat Disord. 2020;53(2):256-265. doi:10.1002/eat.23191
Brewerton TD, D’Agostino M.Adjunctive use of olanzapine in the treatment of avoidant restrictive food intake disorder in children and adolescents in an eating disorders program.J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2017;27(10):920-922. doi:10.1089/cap.2017.0133
ant’Anna AMGA, Hammes PS, Porporino M, et al.Use of cyproheptadine in young children with feeding difficulties and poor growth in a pediatric feeding program.J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2014;59(5):674-678. doi:10.1097/MPG.0000000000000467
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
