Food Phobia Causes and Triggers

Food phobia of childhood, primarily seen in pre- or early pubertal children, was first described as such by Bryan Lask, a pediatric psychiatrist, and Rachel Bryant-Waugh, a psychologist, in the early 1990’s.

To my knowledge, with the exception of one article reporting work with a single young boy, food phobia has not been discussed as an entity in the American pediatric literature except under the general title “dysphagia” where it is likely to come to the attention primarily of pediatric gastroenterologists and otolaryngologists.  In the adult literature it is usually referred to as “choking phobia”. More recently Dr. Lask has chosen to refer to it again as “functional dysphagia,” although we at the Kartini Clinic for Disordered Eating prefer the more intuitive “food phobia.” In our experience, pediatricians report they are often at a loss about what to do with these challenging patients.

Food Phobia happens in children, often very young children, who experience an episode of choking and/or vomiting that leads them subsequently to refuse all solid food.  In some cases they also refuse to swallow liquids, including their own saliva.  This irrational and deeply held fear leads to weight loss and can also lead to dehydration. Food phobia behavior also causes significant psychological distress for the child as well as for the parents.  Begging, pleading, threatening, cajoling, or rewarding do not usually alter the course of this illness.  Most patients who come to us for food phobia treatment have already been seen by some combination of their own doctor, a gastroenterologist, a speech therapist, a psychologist, a throat surgeon or an occupational therapist.  But this usually only serves to delay effective treatment by eating disorder specialists such as Kartini Clinic's food phobia treatment team. It is essential that parents (and their primary care providers) understand that not all eating disorder treatment programs have experience treating food phobia in children. Symptoms and treatment are very different from pediatric anorexia and require specialized protocols. For more on our unique treatment protocol visit our Food Phobia Treatment page. 

For more information about this program, you may submit an online request or simply call us on 503 249 8851 and ask for our intake coordinator.

We are grateful to Drs. Lask and Bryant-Waugh for calling attention to this condition. Click here for the full article. In the interests of full disclosure, Dr. Lask has worked and continues to work with Kartini Clinic staff on various research projects, for which he is not compensated by Kartini Clinic.