ADHD and Eating Disorders: What’s the Connection?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disorder characterized by difficulty concentrating and controlling impulses. It is one of the most common mental health disorders among children. 

Over the last decade, studies have found an association between ADHD and disordered eating. 

This article reviews the connection between ADHD and eating disorders and provides suggestions to help create healthy eating habits.

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The Connection Between ADHD and Eating Disorders

Research has recently started looking at the link between ADHD and eating disorders. People with ADHD may experience:

• Inability to focus; short attention span; daydream.
• A lack of Impulse control or difficulty resisting temptation.
• Difficulty managing emotions.
• Poor memory; forget or lose things often.
• Are slow to start a task and rarely able to finish tasks.

The inability to focus, poor planning skills, and a lack of impulse control can make healthy eating challenging.  

A systematic review published in 2016 found a strong association between ADHD and disordered eating or eating disorders. Children with ADHD were at a greater risk for disordered eating; whereas, adolescents and adults were at risk for both disordered eating and eating disorders. 

Nourish offers individualized nutrition counseling and accepts most popular insurance carriers. If you suspect you have an eating disorder, consider booking a virtual appointment with a Registered Dietitian. 

ADHD and Disordered Eating

A systematic review  found a positive association between ADHD symptoms and disordered eating.

A research study published in the Journal of Pediatrics reported that adult men who have been diagnosed with ADHD as children were twice as likely to struggle with disordered eating as adults as adults. Another review of the available research concluded that the current research supports a causal role of ADHD leading to weight gain later in life. 

The CDC has stated that anybody with a BMI >25 is at an increased risk for chronic health conditions, including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, gallbladder disease, heart disease, and different types of cancer. Addressing ADHD in childhood can help with disordered eating in adulthood. 

ADHD and Neurotransmitters

While the exact cause of ADHD isn’t known, some scientists believe that people who have ADHD may have too little dopamine in the brain or too much dopamine transporter which then lowers dopamine levels. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate a person's mood, attention, motivation, and movement. From a nutrition standpoint, a lack of dopamine in the brain can also contribute to:

• Inability to follow healthy meal plans.
• Inability to follow proper portion sizes.
• Distractions during meal times.
• Inability to listen to internal cues of hunger or satiety.
• Binging followed by purging.

Studies of eating patterns in children with and without ADHD found significant differences between the two groups. Children with ADHD were more likely to skip sit-down meals but still ate more than five times per day. Additionally, those with ADHD also consumed more sweetened beverages and fewer fruits and vegetables compared to those without ADHD. In another study, adolescents with ADHD consumed more snack foods than those without ADHD.

What Eating Disorders Commonly Occur with ADHD?

The most common eating disorder overall is binge eating disorder (BED). 

Binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa are both prevalent in people with ADHD as both of these eating disorders include impulsive decision-making surrounding food. BED is characterized by repeated episodes of binge eating large amounts of food. Bulimia is also characterized by binge eating but includes purging by either self-induced vomiting, laxative abuse or other methods.

Anorexia nervosa can occur in people with ADHD. Anorexia occurs when a person severely restricts caloric intake and loses body weight as a result. Anorexia can be life-threatening if it is not addressed. 

Creating Healthy Eating Habits with ADHD

If you've been diagnosed with ADHD, creating healthy eating habits will help avoid impulsive eating.

Practice mindful eating

Mindfulness helps you become more aware of internal factors that drive you to eat, rather than external cues. Mindful eating includes experiencing all parts of the meal by:

• Having set locations for eating and avoiding distractions. 
• Take the time to enjoy your meal; avoid rushing.
• Highlight features of the meal by acknowledging flavors and textures.
• Paying attention to your body's internal cues for feelings of fullness.

Planning where to eat at home can help to avoid or limit distractions. Eating while working, watching television, or playing video games is not recommended. These distractions can add to mindless eating.

Sitting at the table, taking time to enjoy your food, will help you to apply mindful eating practices.Focus on putting your fork down and taking sips of water in between bites or taking time to enjoy conversation with others. Eating at a slower pace will also allow you to listen to your fullness cues and experience a greater level of meal satisfaction.

Literature reviews support the use of mindfulness-based interventions to address poor eating habits, binge eating, emotional eating, and external eating.

Take Time for Meal Planning

Taking the time to plan meals in advance will help to ensure you have healthy food choices readily available. This will help to avoid impulsive decisions which can lead to unhealthy food choices.

Meal planning can be challenging for people with ADHD because it involves grocery shopping and following recipes with multiple steps. 

To help with grocery shopping, make sure to have a list of items and bring a pen to cross off the items after you have added them to the cart.

When cooking with a recipe, read through the entire directions before starting. It is helpful to have all of your ingredients prepped before starting to cook. This means vegetables are washed, peeled, chopped, or minced while other ingredients are measured per recipe instructions. Meats may also need to be marinated for a while before cooking. Having your ingredients ready to go will make cooking much easier.

Avoid skipping meals

People with ADHD may forget to eat a meal if they are distracted by other events. It is important to develop a habit of eating three meals a day and snacks if needed. Skipping meals can lead to overeating at the next meal.

Some people skip breakfast as their first meal of the day. Yet, eating a healthy breakfast can help improve attention in the morning and feelings of hunger at the next meal. Eating a healthy breakfast should include carbohydrates, protein, and fiber. Without breakfast, you may feel even more hungry at lunch and possibly overeat later in the day. 

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Takeaway

People with ADHD are at greater risk of disordered eating and eating disorders. Creating healthy eating habits  is the key to both mental and physical health as it affects the way you feel and how your body works.

People with ADHD and disordered eating will benefit from therapy and individualized nutrition counseling. Treating ADHD may help you focus on developing healthy habits.

Seeking Help with Nourish

If ADHD is leading to poor food choices and disordered eating, nutrition counseling can help.. 

Nourish can help you find a Registered Dietitian to help you develop healthy eating habits. Take the next step in your health journey by booking a virtual appointment today. 

‍Find a dietitian near you to get started today for as little as $0—94% of our patients pay nothing out of pocket.