South Georgia 11-year-old is overcoming a rare eating disorder

LEESBURG, Ga. (WALB) – Weston Brown, 11, is a brave young boy who loves to golf, hunt and fish.

Unfortunately, Weston’s selective appetite was taking him away from the activities he loves. His mom, Lacey Brown, noticed her child would not eat a variety of foods starting at two years old.

“[Weston] would eat baby foods, but he wouldn’t eat a lot of table foods,” Lacey Brown said.

Brown said her son’s fear of food got so severe that Weston would only eat crispy things like chips and fries. No meat, fruits or vegetables. When she reported this to doctors, they told her Weston was fine. Her gut told her something else.

“I just wanted to know what is going on with my child,” Brown said.

Weston’s severe fear of food is known as ARFID or Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. Kristin Hathaway, a psychologist with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, said ARFID can cause patients to avoid foods with interesting textures, smells and tastes.

“There’s usually a negative health consequence. You have a nutritional deficiency. You’re losing weight and you need formula to grow. There are these intense associations with trying new foods or eating,” Hathaway said.

For help with this diagnosis, the Browns turned to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). After 8 weeks in the feeding therapy program, a child that would not eat much of anything before is trying new foods and enjoying them.

“I am just absolutely grateful for CHOA and the way they treated us. They gave him a new way of living life,” Lacey said.

Weston will have to follow up with therapy for a year, but Lacey said he’s taking huge steps in the right direction.

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