The central role of disgust in disorders of food avoidance.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Individuals with extreme food avoidance such as Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) experience impairing physical and mental health consequences from nutrition of insufficient variety or/and quantity. Identifying mechanisms contributing to food avoidance is essential to develop effective interventions. Anxiety figures prominently in theoretical models of food avoidance; however, there is limited evidence that repeated exposures to foods increases approach behavior in ARFID. Studying disgust, and relationships between disgust and anxiety, may offer novel insights, as disgust is functionally associated with avoidance of contamination from pathogens (as may occur via ingestion) and is largely resistant to extinction.

Method

This exploratory, cross-secti

SUBMITTER: Harris AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6759364 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature