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ABSTRACT Objective Method Results Discussion Cognitive‐behavioral therapy for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID; CBT‐AR) shows promise in improving clinical outcomes in children/adolescents and adults. We aimed to identify predictors of outcomes in CBT‐AR. We hypothesized that younger age, non‐underweight status, and presence of the fear of aversive consequences profile of ARFID would predict greater likelihood of remission post–treatment, and that presence of the lack of interest in eating/food and sensory sensitivity profiles would predict greater likelihood of persistence post‐treatment. We included sex as an exploratory predictor.Individuals (N = 94, ages 10–55 years) were offered 20–30 outpatient sessions of CBT‐AR. We collected clinical and demographic data at pre‐treatment, and remission status at post‐treatment.Consistent with our hypothesis, presence (versus absence) of the fear profile predicted an almost three‐fold increased likelihood of remission. Presence of the sensory profile, lack of interest profile, age, weight status, and sex were not predictors of ARFID outcome.The fear of aversive consequences profile of ARFID may be more amenable to treatment with CBT‐AR. This is the first study to identify predictors of treatment outcome following CBT‐AR. Randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings and examine moderators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Individuals with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) self-report heightened sensitivity to taste and smell, but neither phenomenon has been systematically explored in the laboratory. We hypothesized that, compared to healthy controls (HC, n = 34), children, adolescents, and adults with full/subthreshold ARFID (n = 100; ages 9 to 23 years) would self-report heightened response to taste/smell stimuli and exhibit stronger bitter taste perception and heightened smell perception in performance-based tasks, and these differences would be especially prominent in those with the ARFID-sensory sensitivity presentation., Method: We measured self-reported sensitivity to taste/smell with the adolescent/adult sensory profile (AASP). We measured performance-based bitter taste perception with the regional taste intensity test (RTIT) and 6-N-propylthiouracil (PROP) test, and olfactory performance with the Sniffin' Sticks test (including the odor threshold, odor detection, and odor identification subscales)., Results: As expected, the ARFID group self-reported heightened response to taste/smell on the AASP, compared to HC, with an especially large effect size in the subset with the ARFID-sensory sensitivity presentation. Contrary to hypotheses, on performance-based measures, neither the ARFID group-nor the ARFID-sensory sensitivity group specifically-demonstrated heightened sensitivity to bitter taste on the RTIT or PROP tests, nor heightened smell perception on the Sniffin' Sticks test., Conclusion: These first laboratory findings in a clinically diagnosed sample of individuals with full/subthreshold ARFID highlight the discrepancy between perceived versus actual sensitivity to taste/smell stimuli. Future research should explore whether this discrepancy can be replicated and therapeutically leveraged to facilitate successful food exposures., (© 2025 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)