ADHD and Binge Eating: Why You either Binge or Forget to Eat

Living with ADHD often means balancing various challenges, including food and eating habits. Research shows a strong link between ADHD and binge eating, with symptoms like impulsivity and inattention contributing to unhealthy patterns. Many people with ADHD struggle with overeating, bingeing or forgetting to eat, making daily life even more complex.

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By understanding how ADHD affects daily behaviours and routines, we can explore why it may lead to challenges with eating. Here’s a look at the relationship between ADHD, overeating, undereating, and binge eating, along with strategies to build healthier eating patterns.

What Is ADHD?

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental mental health condition that can impact executive functioning, impulsivity, concentration, and emotional regulation. 

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When not properly managed, ADHD can affect every aspect of your life—including your eating habits. Common ADHD symptoms can increase the likelihood of developing unhealthy eating patterns, including binge eating, forgetting to eat and overeating.

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ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in Canada, affecting approximately 1.8 million Canadians.

ADHD and Binge Eating

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It has been found that ADHD and binge eating have some overlap in brain function. One study revealed similar brain processes in binge eating and ADHD, including reward processing, response inhibition, and emotional processing and regulation. 

Binge eating occurs when someone consumes excessive amounts of food quickly, often without feeling hungry. This behaviour is typically accompanied by a sense of loss of control while eating. Binge eating disorder (BED) is characterized by having at least one weekly episode of binge eating. About 30 percent of individuals with BED also have a history of ADHD.

Some of the other signs and symptoms of BED are:

• Eating even when you are not hungry or eating until you feel uncomfortably full.
• Feeling guilt, shame, or embarrassment after overeating.
• Eating for emotional comfort.
• Eating food in secret or in isolation. 

Is Forgetting to Eat a Sign of ADHD?

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While ADHD overeating and binge eating are commonly connected, symptoms of ADHD can also lead to other unhealthy eating patterns, like forgetting to eat. 

If you struggle to recognize your body’s hunger cues and maintain regular mealtimes, it may be due to the self-regulation and executive functioning challenges often associated with ADHD. However, occasionally forgetting to eat doesn’t necessarily mean you have ADHD. While ADHD and disordered eating can often co-occur, not everyone with ADHD experiences eating challenges, and not everyone with eating challenges has ADHD.

The Connection Between ADHD and Food

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ADHD can impact your relationship with food in many ways. Here are some of the reasons why ADHD may impact your eating patterns.

Dopamine Levels

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People with ADHD tend to have lower levels of dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, reward, and motivation. Because ADHD brains have a higher need for stimulation, you may turn to external sources of stimulation, like food.

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Food can offer stimulation through the way it tastes, smells, looks, and feels. People with ADHD may overindulge in carbohydrates, high-calorie foods, and high-sugar foods since they can stimulate the pleasure centre of the brain.

Impulsivity

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Impulsivity can make it challenging to control urges and behaviours, leading to difficulties with self-regulation. When engaging in pleasurable activities, such as eating, it can be hard to stop. For some individuals, this means continuing to eat even after they’re full.

Inattention 

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People with ADHD may have a lower awareness of their body’s internal cues of hunger and fullness, eating past the point of satiety. This makes it difficult to regulate eating patterns, which can lead to forgetting to eat and overeating later. 

Executive Dysfunction

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Executive function includes mental skills that allow us to plan, organize, and manage our time. Establishing a daily routine—including regular mealtimes—can be difficult if you are navigating ADHD. 

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Cooking nutritious meals involves deciding what to cook, shopping for the ingredients, meal planning, and remembering to eat. This collection of tasks can be challenging if you have executive dysfunction, and it may lead to ADHD paralysis. 

Hyperfixation

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Hyperfixation, commonly seen in individuals with ADHD, involves an intense focus on a specific interest or activity. This intense concentration can affect eating habits in several ways, such as causing you to ignore hunger cues when you are absorbed in a particular activity.

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In some cases, you might also hyper-fixate on the food itself, experiencing intense cravings or a persistent focus on the same food. This preoccupation can make it difficult to stop thinking about food, potentially leading to binge eating. 

Emotional Dysregulation

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People with ADHD often experience intensified emotions and may struggle with managing their feelings. When faced with heightened anxiety, stress, or other negative emotions, food can seem like a quick and accessible source of comfort, potentially leading to episodes of overindulgence as a coping mechanism.

Managing ADHD and Eating

There are several strategies for developing healthier eating habits. Effectively managing ADHD can often lead to improvements.

Here are a few practical strategies to try:

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• Eat smaller, more frequent meals, or snack in between meals.
• Minimize distractions when you eat. Practice mindful or intuitive eating to better recognize hunger and fullness cues.
• Avoid dieting or restriction, which can trigger binging. 
• Stock up on quick and easy nutritious meals and snacks. 
• Set timers to remind yourself to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 
• Divide snacks and meals into individual portions.
• When the urge to binge eat strikes, try other activities, like drawing, biking, or reading.

Find Support for ADHD With Phare Counselling

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ADHD overeating or forgetting to eat can significantly impact your daily life and overall well-being. Effective ADHD treatments, including medication and therapy, can help manage symptoms that contribute to unhealthy eating patterns. If you're struggling with ADHD and binge eating—or any eating challenges—a mental health professional can offer valuable guidance and support.

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At Phare Counselling, we can match you with a licensed counsellor who specializes in treating ADHD. Working together, you can develop strategies to navigate life’s challenges while embracing your neurodivergent strengths. Match with a counsellor today!

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Author Bio:

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Wendy Chan is a writer and editor who is passionate about health, wellness, and self-care. She has worked in marketing and communications for nearly a decade, creating educational content for brands and companies across Canada. Since 2020, she has been a writer and researcher for Phare Counselling.

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Wendy specializes in authoring informative and accessible content on mental health, wellbeing, higher education, and technology. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. You can find her in Vancouver or Toronto, depending on the weather.

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