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Rachel Riley issues important plea after 'old friend' gets in touch with family health struggle

The Countdown host is asking fans for help

rachel riley
Sharnaz Shahid
Deputy Online Editor
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Rachel Riley often voices her support for various charities and initiatives on Twitter – and her latest post was no different.

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Taking to her social media account on Friday, the Countdown host - who is a doting mother to two young daughters - revealed her friend John reached out and asked her to help raise the awareness of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) after his son Arthur was diagnosed with it.

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"An old friend just got in touch after a long struggle to get a diagnosis for his son with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID)," she shared alongside a link to her friend's charity page.

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"He wants to spread the word so other families won’t have the same struggle. Big love to little Arthur and fam [blue heart emoji]."

ARFID is a new diagnosis and was previously referred to as Selective Eating Disorder. According to Kids Health, children with "ARFID are extremely picky eaters and have little interest in eating food. They eat a limited variety of preferred foods, which can lead to poor growth and poor nutrition."

rachel riley pasha loose women noa© Photo: Rex

Rachel shares two daughters with husband Pasha

On John's charity page, he states: "Whilst the exact causes of ARFID are unknown, it is thought that people who develop ARFID do so because of sensory sensitivity, fear of negative consequences or a lack of interest in eating.

"For example, they might be very sensitive to the taste, texture or appearance of certain types of food, or have had a distressing experience with food, such as choking, vomiting, infant acid reflux or other gastrointestinal conditions - this may cause the person to develop feelings of fear and anxiety around food, and lead to them to avoiding food."

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