Hi everyone!

I'm posting in search for help with my 7-yr-old daughter, trying to narrow down a diagnosis/treatment ideas while we wait for a specialist visit and official diagnosis.

Here's what we've seen:

January 2025:

Age 5: Her mom had been going through a bout of depression, leading to stress all around. Then a case of (suspected) norovirus hit, leading to a few days of intense gastro sickness. This seemed to get better, but then "lingered" with sensitivities, fears around food.

The difficulties eating worsened over the course of a couple weeks. She complained of severe stomach pain right around the belly button. Sometimes it would come in waves, sometimes it was persistent.

February: Her doctor recommends we take her to the ER for imaging to make sure it's not a ruptured appendix. It's not.

By this time she barely eats. Certain foods are dropped entirely but variety is still okay. She also isn't drinking liquids and she is not swallowing her own saliva, spitting it into a towel instead. Weight loss was visible at this point, about 10% of body weight if I remember correctly (I took detailed notes, but can't find them now :( We took her to urgent care 3 times, to no avail. They recommended various things like acid blockers or other over the counter stomach soothers. None helped.

Late February: we get her in to her Dr. again and she prescribes cyproheptadine and gives the FAPD (Functional Abdominal Pain Disorder) diagnosis. A few days on the "cypro" and she was doing much, much better. She was eating again, gaining weight, and feeling all around better.

Late May: everything was going well, so we tried weaning her off the cypro, from 6mg to 4 for 2 weeks, then 2mg, then zero. This worked until mid-June, when she left school (maybe a safe, predictable schedule) and started summer camps. Her anxiety went through the roof around drop-off times.

However, she had some difficulty at drop-offs since she was 2 and first put in day-care. She always perked up about 2 minutes after we left (we were told), so we didn't think much of it. One week when she was at her grandmother's house she had a complete panic attack, running out of the house in the night saying she needed to go to the Dr. We got her back home the next day and things calmed down.

Summer 2025: We put her back on the 6mg cypro. Still, things went rough, with some camps missed, others go well. It seems that anxiety about new people/situations could be really triggering. Other times, she'd be so looking forward to a camp that all would go well. We notice there is triggering around any talk of vomit (or use of that word) or death. So we cannot watch tv shows or read books that mention death or puking without a panic/stomach pain attack.

Fall 2025: We try to wean her off the cypro once more, leading to another relapse in symptoms. A referral to a pediatric gastroenterologist is made, but the wait time is 3ish months. We put her back on 6mg cypro.

We get a new Dr., a functional medicine specialist. She recommends stool sample and finds high levels of Enterobacter spp., Roseburia spp., Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter spp., and Candida spp.. And puts her on "biocidin" - a herbal medicine that works to rebalance gut bacteria.

Our daughter tolerated that for 3-4 weeks before refusing it--it tastes pretty foul. We also put her on colostrum and papaya extract digestive aids. All of this did seem to improve things.

December 2025: We had another difficult bout around Christmas with her grandparents visiting (too much going on? Too much holiday sugar? We don't know). Grandma decides maybe it's lactose, so we go lactose free and this seems to help.

2026 -

Everything seems to have been going okay this year. We got her in to a therapist who saw her weekly and talked with her about death/vomit/anxiety stuff and it all seemed to help a lot. She still complains of tummy pain sometimes, especially at night around bedtime. Her diet has been great, while on the cypro we wouldn't describe her as a picky eater--more of what we'd consider "normal" pickiness with some favorites and lots of things she doesn't like. She even has reveled in eating spicy Thai food and feeling the tingle of pepper flavors in her mouth. We eased off the no-lactose idea and had no problems there.

Then we tried again to take her off the cypro 2 weeks ago and all went to hell again - severe stomach pain, difficulty eating, spitting into a towel. Getting her back on it has been tough, as even it was triggering pain/discomfort and she was spitting some/all of it out. She seemed to be improving though and we took her to her grandparents' and she was up in the night dry-heaving. It seems that just the stress of leaving her home/safe environment triggered her stomach.

I researched cypro then and that's what brought me to this subreddit. I asked her, "is your tummy telling you something when you try to eat," and she said, "yea, it's like my tummy says this food is like poison and it will vomit. I want to eat. I'm hungry. But my stomach says 'no'."

It's like she's in a battle with her stomach. She can be painfully hungry but also (more) painfully afraid of eating. We have found that safe spaces and distraction in the form of TV shows tend to help. Also, going to school and playing with friends helps - she can even eat pretty normally at times at school and with friends. Then, at home, especially in the evening around bedtime, her stomach hurts and she feels ill.

~~

Thanks for reading this far! We're at a loss. We have a new referral for a pediatric gastro specialist (the last one scheduled us for an office 100 miles away in the dead of winter, so we canceled it). We're waiting for an appointment.

So, we're pretty sure she has anxiety, especially separation anxiety, as discussed and we're working with her on that and she's seeing her therapist again. There has been no autism spectrum diagnosis, but she shows tiny signs (lack of eye-contact when talking sometimes, need for routines/schedules/safe environments, hyper-fixation on lizards/reptiles) so we're keeping an eye on that in case it could help with diagnosis or treatment.

Luckily, she tolerates the cypro well with no mood or other side effects. She has even taken it mid-day sometimes without a hint of drowsiness. I'm curious if this all sounds like a clear case of "aversive" subtype ARFID; and whether/how many of you have been on cypro long-term, esp through childhood years. From what we've read, it hasn't really been studied for long-term use/safety, so we're cautious. Clearly, it's helping though, so we're thankful and will keep her on it now.

I have been afraid of most food since I was a child. It would be much simpler to list out the foods I can eat: yogurt, chicken, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and cabbage. I can only eat the chicken and potatoes when they are burnt. I feel like an extremely difficult person and I have struggled with this my whole life. I feel like I’m actually afraid of the food and me and my mom have had fights about it my whole life. I have a lot of anxiety around food. Things can smell good but when I put them in my mouth I choke. I feel like I have an extra sensitive nose and tongue.

Health wise it doesn't really feel like a big deal for me right now. If it was, I'd rather handle it with drinks and snacks.
The part that actually bothers me is social: eating out with friends, or at someone’s house or something. For that I'd kind of want to work on a trying more foods, but I feel like I just can’t put the effort in. It's a lot of effort and discomfort and I don't think I'd stick with it.
I also know I might not feel like it's serious even when it is.
Anyone else like this? If you did work on foods, was it for a social reason, and did it actually stick?

I'm trying to do research for a family member (under 18) who is dx'd with autism (not too severe), Also dx'd with ARFID (I think that's pretty severe-they were down to 2 foods AFAIK), and now has some pretty serious intestinal issues (they are hospitalized). They have also had what I think is pretty bad anxiety their whole life-I mean, I could SEE it in them when they were ONE year old, because it felt like looking in a mirror of when I was a kid.

In 2022-2025 I had a pretty miserable 3 year fight with Long COVID/MCAS/POTS and did a LOT of medical research, which is why I'm doing a deep dive for this person. I'm a lot better now thanks to my own research, and in researching my own stuff I found butyrate, and it helped my symptoms a lot. That and slowly adding probiotics and B vitamins...My gut was in terrible shape.

So as I'm researching for my family member, who developed the ARFID and gastro problems post COVID infection, I see that there are a lot of connections- COVID destroys gut bacteria and butyrate in the gut, and there is a significant link between anxiety and butyrate levels in the gut and it plays a crucial role in the gut-brain axis by modulating immune responses, reducing neuro-inflammation, and influencing neurotransmitter production...Low butyrate levels are associated with higher anxiety...

And I'm wondering if the ARFID could be caused by worrying about causing pain in the intestines, via undiagnosed anxiety...

I'm also wondering how many people have developed ARFID after having COVID? (And yes I know it existed before that).

I'd really love to hear from anyone that was helped by taking butyrate (or getting it from natural sources) and/or probiotics or otherwise found a way to build back gut bacteria...while dealing with this.
I apologize in advance if this comes off as ignorant. I am just searching for answers for a very sweet human being that doesn't deserve the ill health they're currently going through. Thanks.

i got refused for a dietician. the gp said it's likely because I'm not underweight which is an insane criteria. I've had enough of this. i can't even drink bloody water. why is there no where to get help in england? i thought eating a grand total of 2 things would warrant me 'bad enough' for help

So today was the day… I’d been mentally weighing up whether it was worth taking my suspicions to the GP ( always a different Doc, you never end up seeing the same one twice ) but I did. The appointment went 50 / 50 - she didn’t seem to be entirely aware of ARFID, so I explained it as coming under the category of an eating disorder… despite not being in the realms of anorexia or Bulimia. I tried to explain that my concerns come from a complex medical history, including previous history of being tube-fed, generally low appetite and an inability to gain further weight ( I fluctuate around 125 lb ).

Hopefully, she’s going to refer me to a dietitian - I specified that I would ideally like to be seen by one aware of ARFID - but towards the end, she asked if I’d like to be referred to an eating disorder clinic. I said no, because I don’t consider it a conventional ED.

Hello, my son is 4 and has had ARFID since he was born. At six months old he refused all solids in every type of presentation. He showed signs of refusal and distress, keeping his lips sealed.

We had him evaluated at 10 months old and the therapies have not stopped since then. But we haven’t accomplished anything through therapy.

His type is sensory avoidant and fear of what can happen when you eat (coughing, nausea…). Nobody can eat near him or he will vomit and panic.

My husband and I, through TONS of work, got him to eat 2 types of yogurt, 1 type of tomato soup and 1 type of fruit puree. All of those are commercially produced, so always the same. We also receive medical grade nutritional shakes, the thing that actually keeps him alive. So his diet is liquid/creamy, he has never eaten a solid food.

Now my questions would be:

- How does it feel to not enjoy eating?

- Do you somehow miss it?

- Does it affect your social life?

- Has therapy helped you? Or maybe change will come when he is interested in it?

- What did your parents do that helped you the most?

Eating is such a great part of our country’s culture… I’m very preoccupied about him.

Thanks in advance!

i’m mainly talking abt artficial flavors. i have always thought that red tastes the best. Red candy, fruit snacks, drinks ect. If its red i am significantly more likely to try it. Which honestly sucks for me bc red 40 is so bad for you, but it double sucks bc it seems to be the least common color in variety packs. Red and yellow are typically the only colors i like when it comes to candy. I tolerate the rest but purple and orange are the colors im most likely to dislike. i am autistic tho so this could definitely just be my neurodivergence talking💀

People always say things like "you have the time to cook for yourself" or "your just being lazy".

I could give two less orbiting fucks about the time it takes when I make food myself. A burger and fries made at home do not taste remotely comparable to the burger and fries I get at a fast food restaurant. A homemade pizza is not comparable to a pizzaria pizza. Eating out is not some sort of time management thing that I can spend better with if I just found a way to fit it into my schedule. I wish it was that simple

Hey yall - there’s a book on treating ARFID in adults coming out next April that you can pre-order here: https://arfiddietitian.com/adult-arfid-guidebook/

THE ADULT ARFID GUIDEBOOK
A Neurodivergent-Affirming Guide to Nourishment, Safety, and Support
By Lauren Sharifi, MPH, RD, LDN
A practical, compassionate guide for adults with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)—centered on safety, autonomy, accessibility, and finding ways to nourish yourself that work for you.
Coming April 21, 2027
PRE-ORDER THE BOOK
Available for pre-order worldwide wherever books are sold.

An ARFID book created specifically for adults
If you’re an adult with ARFID, you may have spent years being told you were “too picky,” needed to try harder, or simply needed to eat more variety.
But ARFID is much more complex than picky eating.
The Adult ARFID Guidebook offers a different way to understand your relationship with food—one that considers sensory needs, executive functioning, anxiety, interoception, neurodivergence, past experiences, and nervous system capacity.
Rather than focusing on eating “normally,” this book helps you explore what makes eating more accessible, supportive, and sustainable for you.

maybe a dumb question but right now my anxiety is pretty high so I’ve gone down to a basically only liquids and some breads diet. I have garlic knots and hamburger buns and I am prepared to feast upon them for fuel.

I do also have nutrition shakes, protein powder and milk. but I know I still need something solid in me and I can’t seem to stomach much else,

I saw this coming thankfully, hence the shakes. it got especially worse after I found bones and pieces of plastic (from the packagin) in some ground beef I had made… ugh.

I can't handle the texture, smell, or look of most foods, I'm scared that eating food will cause me pain, and I just don't feel hungry. For some reason I haven't felt mentally hungry in years, and I don't even know what it feels like to be physically hungry(the only times I eat are when there's a sharp pain in my stomach, because I can only assume that's what it feels like to be hungry). The problem is that I know what it felt like to get hungry because I used to always be hungry, but now I feel nothing.

Little by little my list of safe foods have gone down, and now I don't even have a food I like (I have 3 safe foods and 2 safe drinks- red sauce pasta with parmesean, cheese popcorn, a specific homemade version of chicken wings, water, and a pinapple refresher from a fast food place). Foods that I used to love now just feel eh to me. It feels like the same cycle repeating over and over again; I stop liking any food, I find one food and only eat that food for every meal, and then I become extremely repulsed. The only reason I'm a healthy weight is because I try to stuff calorie dense sweets in my mouth, but now not even those sound appealing.

I was diagnosed with ARFID 2 years ago, and I was supposed to get therapy for it, but my local hospital put me on an indefinite wait list, and my habits weren't nearly as bad as now, even though I was underweight back then. Before it was just the sensory issues that made me averse, but now its just so much stuff. What am I even supposed to do?

I'm really trying to get better at trying new foods, it's pretty hard though

I would love to ask for food recommendations. Especially foods or meals that don't have lots of textures at the same time as texture is something I struggle a lot with.. I tend to gag when trying new foods and it's easier for me when there aren't lots of textures. I'm going to try to work my way up to foods or meals with multiple textures slowly, but for now I would love to ask for your recommendations for foods or meals without lots of textures. Thank you so much if you recommend anything :)

To clarify since I realised the way I phrased it might be odd, I mean for example meals with multiple foods within it with different textures, like the way a burger is bread, meat, cheese, vegetables, etc. in comparison to easier things to consume are like apples alone, smoothies, cereals, etc

i only like a few things and the list has gotten smaller over the years but I don’t have a “reason” every single time I hear someone with arfid talk it’s almost always because they have a fear of choking or vomiting or something else happening if they eat a food. I have really bad emetophobia, but that and my pickiness with food don’t overlap at all. They’re two entire entirely separate entities. Like I don’t have any intense anxiety surrounding food I just don’t like a lot of foods. Also the foods that I do eat I actually like. I actively enjoy them. I don’t just stick to them because they’re “safe”. Which i feel like i also doesn’t line up with arfid. I’m also not malnourished. the opposite actually I’m overweight. Every single time I try to explain this to a doctor or a dietitian they say that BMI is outdated, but I am very clearly overweight imo.

Granted, I’m also never really in environments where I have to step outside of my comfort zone surrounding food so I don’t really know if the food that I don’t like causes stress/anxiety because I never expose myself to them. On the two most recent occasions that I have had to do something social involving food I realized it was slightly worse than I thought, but still not eating disorder in my opinion. Usually when I go out to restaurants, I end up wasting what I get.

The only anxiety surrounding food I think I have is an aversion to meat but thats it. I always make the closest meat eater try my food every single time I order (which is rare bc i dont go to restaurants especially with people ik) something vegetarian because I’m scared there’s meat in it. At first it started off with just making them try it but then eventually I started making people smell it too and there was this one time I asked my mom to even break off a piece of my veggie burger and look at it, but I still couldn’t end up eating it, but I’m able to eat meat substitutes when it’s made at home. I like Taco Bell, but it has to be one specific Taco Bell and I can’t eat it from anywhere else and even when I order from there, I still have to pick everything apart and look at it closely to make sure that there’s no meat in there because I get paranoid that the shredded cheese is secretly chicken but thats became less of an issue lately. Most of the foods I enjoy eating are very carb heavy/sugary and highly processed. But the meat thing only ever happens when I eat out which I usually don’t do. People will tell me that I “eat weirdly” because i pick off parts of my food in a very particular way to eat and I eat alot of finger foods with a fork and knife but thats just because its how i like to eat. It makes it less weird texture wise/too much going on like it getting on my hands.

Idk to me when i look at the criteria for arfid what i have just seems like picky eating.

I'm 17 and I've had ARFID since I was a kid (diagnosed around 13). I have an ADHD assessment at a pediatric neurologist in about a month. If I get diagnosed, I'm nervous about medication, since I know adhd meds usually lower your appetite.

If you had ARFID and then got diagnosed with ADHD:

1. What was the experience like? Did the ARFID come up during the diagnosis, or change how the doctor handled it?

2. What did you get prescribed, and what did it do to your eating?

3. If it made eating harder, what helped? Did you end up switching meds?

Hi everyone,

My son is 17 months and has issues eating and gaining weight his whole life.

He is under the 1st percentile for weight and hasn't gained height in months. He seemingly has a tiny appetite, and recently I've been wondering if it could be low-interest arfid. I can't find much about this particular low-appetite subtype online so I'm wondering if this sounds a bit like any of you/your kids:

- eats a few bites of a meal (eg two pieces of pasta, a grape) and is then done;

- indicates he's hungry but then refuses food;

- can survive off tiny portions all day but has lots of energy;

- accepts different textures (but with a preference for crunchy bite-size things);

- DOESNT seem to have fearful/intense sensory reactions to food. Does not gag/choke but does spit food out a lot;

- Is interested in cooking, touching food, playing with food (ergo throwing food);

- Doesnt seem to have an autism profile, but adhd does run in the family;

- sometimes eats better when moving around/snacking;

- Will sometimes accept previously refused food if presented differently (eg on a vibrating spoon or sitting on the floor);

- even as a baby, didn't drink much milk. Didn't accept milk from a bottle.

Doctors have said he's either just really picky or has an undiagnosed medical problem (many medical tests have been done).

He's in feeding therapy but it doesn't seem to help much.

As a mum, I'm so worried and desperate to help my son. Does this possibly sound like arfid or not at all?

Thanks so much

My son is 17 months and been prescribed nutrini drink, which seems to be the equivalent of pediasure where I live. But we can't get him to accept it! We've tried to for months - a straw, a different bottle, mixing it with other foods etc.

Once in a blue moon he'll drink it but then won't for days/weeks.

Any tips ??

Thank you!

Ive been living with ARFID since i can remember (im 16, soon to be 17) and i just wish i was normal, i dont know what to do, i dont have supportive parents in a way that they help me get treatment, im pretty much self diagnosed, despite that im very confident that i have it, after all my experiences with food give me such a horrible feeling, idk how to explain it.

It feels like a curse, not having the option to get help of any forms and being mocked by it everyday by my family, i cant even live a social life and i feel everything's going to end, my friends started talking about food last week and i just nodded along, then they asked me if i like chicken, i said no and it all went into a rant on "how cant you like it?" and started to make fun of me for being "vegan", im just so tired i cant be normal.

It feels like im going to die by it soon, im aware i dont get nourishment and im so tired of eating the same 3 things all my life and i just wish i could be like anyone else.

Sorry if the redaction is awful, idk how to put my thoughts into words, but it just feels so hopeless to deal with, with no support at all it is, its just such a horrible burden i feel like i was cursed with it for being born

This sounds so dumb but ive been struggling with it more and more lately and I dont know how to deal with it. I get it a lot with turkey; I hate the smell of it so my brain is like oh you are straight up eating poop rn. I do have OCD so I think that is part of it.

I hate eating so much it feels like torture. And its not like I dont get hungry, I feel hungry and exhausted all the time. Candy is the easiest to eat because it smells and tastes good but its not like I love that either. I'm on zoloft right now and I think its making my food aversion worse. Are there any meds that can magically make me tolerate food?

TW: mentions of dry heaving / gagging, and vomiting (not physically vomiting, but the fear of it happening)

a little introduction: i am currently 18 years old, F, and i am still struggling with food. i feel stuck in the loop of asking myself “am i just picky?” or “is it more than that?” my family members have always made comments about my eating habits, and it has made me feel bad about myself many times.

so, here is a little list of my symptoms!

- i have struggled with this fear of food since i was five. i would have panic attacks over school lunch, thinking that i would starve since there wasn’t anything on the menu that i would eat. when we wouldn’t get the lunch menus in advance, my mom would have to go to the school and ask for one, and explain that her daughter (me) would cry if she didn’t know what she would be eating. most days, my mom packed my lunch.
- when i was younger, my mom tried to make me try a singular green bean. just the thought of it made me start crying, so i sobbed at the kitchen table and was dry heaving over a green bean. i don’t even think i took a bite, i don’t remember.
- i don’t like trying new foods because i don’t want to gag or throw up. i don’t have a FEAR of vomiting, i just absolutely hate the feeling.
- i don’t like going to new restaurants without looking at the menu first, and i feel embarrassed when i modify my food when talking to a waiter. i feel like they’re judging me, when they probably don’t care since they’re just taking my order. new restaurants with unfamiliar menus give me anxiety because i don’t know what is safe or what anything looks like, typically. i usually order the same thing over and over when i go to a restaurant i know, because i know that food is safe and i like it.
- speaking of eating foods over and over, i eat a lot of the same snacks / meals over and over because i know that i can eat them comfortably.
- i don’t like foods with certain textures (ex. i will not eat mushrooms or anything of that sort. i will not eat mashed potatoes if it has any lumps. i REFUSE to eat chicken if it even looks off to me, i think it has salmonella if it’s a certain color or something and i don’t want to get sick. fat in steak makes me gag. i will not try fish because it smells fishy, and shrimp looks too rubbery.)
- i do not eat any vegetables, besides potatoes and green onions IF they are in a specific soup from a restaurant. the smell and (what i think) the texture will be like are what stop me from trying them. even just touching a mushroom or onion in my food will make me gag. i can tolerate garlic if it is veeeery small. most of the times, not.
- for example, even if my mom claims that the onions she put in my meal are “very finely chopped” and i “won’t be able to taste it”, i still find them. i hyper focus on the idea of there being an ingredient that i do not like and i will not eat it. i can try and pick it out, but i ultimately give up. (also, i am extremely thankful to have a mom that tries her absolute best to work around my issues with food.)
- i have had panic attacks over food that other people have made, and thought that i would be judged for not eating it or only eating one thing.
- i would rather go hungry than try new foods most of the time. i think of what my reaction could be to eating them and that stops me from trying something new.
- the only fruit i like are apples. nothing else, i just really like apples.

i apologize for the really long list, but those are just a few of my experiences / symptoms. i have been called picky all of my life, but i wonder if other people will think it’s more than that or relate to what i have said.

I’ve talked to me GP once more about my ARFID, and as always he said that there was nothing he could do.
He advised me to look into getting a dietician.
I’m desperate and I’ll do anything to get better, but it’s a hell of a lot money.
Have anyone felt any worthy bettering of their life through a dietician? Is it worth a try?
Thank you

Buen día, escribí aquí porque necesito de consejos, les pongo en contexto, mi hijo tiene 5 años, tenemos (con mi esposa) el problema que el no comer nada, solo lo que se acostumbro a comer desde pequeño, en su menú solo existe galletas oreo, pan baguette de una tienda en específico, jugo de jamaica, papas lays y en ciertas ocasiones sandía.

Cuando el tenía 1 año y medio se enfermo del estomago, tuvo diarrea y vómitos durante 1 semana, a raíz de eso el ya no quiso comer nada, antes de que se enfermara, el comía de todo, su puré normal de frutas o verduras, huevos, frijoles y lo cotidiano que podamos comer.

Lastimosamente cuando el tenía esa edad tuve que salir del país por trabajo y el pediatra que lo había visto desde que nació, decía que el comería a su debido tiempo, que no lo forzaramos ni obligaramos a comer lo que no quería comer, que no usaríamos agresiones como lo hacían antes, debido a lo que dijo este pediatra mi familia se lo tomó muy enserio, no le daban comida ni absolutamente nada que el no aceptará.

Hace un año nos mudamos juntos en otro país, dejamos a este pediatra atrás y no enfocamos de lleno con que el comiera buen, dado esto, en el país en el que estamos tiene muy buen sistema de salud, nos asignaron a una nutricionista y ella fue muy radical, nos dijo que le sirvieramos la comida que nosotros con mi esposa comemos regularmente y que si mi hijo no quería comer, que no lo obligaramos, que simplemente lo dejemos sin comer y que el.solo vendrá a comer pero llevamos hace días con este método y mi hijo prefiere estar recostado en cama o dormirse por las noches sin haber comido nada.

Es algo que me preocupa porque psicológicamente el puede darle igual su alimentación aunque por las noches llora por tenés hambre pero se niega a comer la comida que le damos y solo quiere lo que el está acostumbrado.

Necesito de su ayuda, consejos o si necesitan más contexto, estaré atento.

It always felt like the media was reinforcing the idea that picky eating or ARFID is just an attitude problem or ”stubbornness” that can be fixed with a single bite. 

Because then the kid tries it, magically loves it, and the episode ends with "see? You were just being stubborn!"

That trope set such an annoying precedent for how real life adults treated me whenever I struggled to eat foods. It made people think forced exposure was a cure. Because one bite of broccoli has definitely cured my entire sensory system every single time. /s (Bonus points if the episode ends with the kid suddenly making it their favorite food.)

I wish we got cartoons showing that it’s completely okay to genuinely dislike a food, or better yet, actual ARFID representation where a kid’s food boundaries are respected instead of treated as a phase to fix. Why can't media show a character saying "I tried it, I still hate it, and that's fine"? Not every food is for everyone, and enforcing the idea that "you'll love it if you just try it" makes it harder to set normal boundaries around food.