Buzzapp Master 
Experts explain the connection and offer tips to repair your relationship with food.
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If you, too, got an ADHD diagnosis in adulthood, you’ve probably had a lot of “ah hah” moments when reflecting on past battles (and successes!) from your adolescence. A realization I recently had (and one that I’m admittedly still processing) is that my (at the time, undiagnosed) ADHD was likely linked to my ongoing struggles with anorexia nervosa—something I dealt with for about a decade.
In high school, I couldn’t understand why I criticized my body so much, but my peers didn’t seem to be burdened by the same debilitating thoughts. As it turns out, my tendency to hyperfixate was a hallmark of ADHD, and for me, this manifested as perfectionism, or the belief that everything (including my body) must be perfect. Of course, there’s currently no medical evidence that states ADHD causes an eating disorder—other factors like stress in the home, attachment traumas, and abuse are much more intrinsic to how eating disorders develop, Margo Pumar, MD, a San Francisco–based adult psychiatrist who specializes in ADHD and reproductive psychiatry, tells SELF.
However, studies and experts alike point to overlapping symptoms between certain eating disorders and ADHD, suggesting that ADHD could contribute to disordered eating habits. In fact, research shows that people with ADHD are nearly four times as likely as those without the condition to develop an eating disorder.
The connection between ADHD and disordered eatingGenerally speaking, food comes with a lot of decision-making. “How we eat, when we eat, and what we eat is pretty complicated,” Dr. Pumar says. And because people with ADHD don’t tend to have strong executive function—a.k.a. the skills you need to manage your plans, emotions, and goals (this includes your working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition control)—they may be more likely to be reactive to certain hunger cues. That means your internal dialogue could be as quick as: “I’m hungry. What do I crave? I’ll eat that,” Dr. Pumar says.
This can lead to impulsive decisions around food. “ADHD is not a deficit of attention as the name suggests,” Karen Stewart, PhD, a clinical psychologist based in Huntsville, Alabama, who provides therapy and educational services for adults with ADHD, tells SELF. “It’s a disorder of difficulty regulating and directing your attention with intention.”
For some, impulsivity is also behind disordered eating habits—this is especially the case for binge eating, or chronic, compulsive overeating. “Impulsive means taking action without thinking,” Lara Honos-Webb, PhD, a San Francisco–based clinical psychologist and cofounder of Bonding Health, a platform dedicated to giving people research-backed ADHD support tools, tells SELF. She explains that some people may find it hard to stop eating once they start, neglecting the potential consequences, which can include anything from a stomach ache, to nausea, or feeling ashamed of your actions, for example.
Recent research also identifies this connection between impulsivity and disordered eating. A review in a 2023 issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders suggests the most common eating disorder in children and adolescents with ADHD is binge eating disorder, followed by bulimia nervosa. Some estimates suggest that a third of adults with binge eating disorder also have a history of ADHD.
While not as common, restrictive eating habits can also be amplified in those with ADHD, Dr. Pumar explains. “What’s happening with anorexia is perfectionism,” she says. The emotional dysregulation that comes with ADHD can fuel negative emotions and self-talk that come up for people with anorexia. This may make you think that nobody will love you unless you’re perfect, says Dr. Honos-Webb. These thought distortions can then make you feel like you need to restrict your calories.
All this being said, many people with ADHD tend to experience disordered eating habits, regardless of whether they have a diagnosed eating disorder. We asked experts to explain the food-related patterns that ADHD often feeds into, and how to address them.
4 eating habits that are common with ADHD—and what you can do to change courseCertain themes are at the helm of each habit, including impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, executive dysfunction, and hyperfocus. Below, experts explain how each eating habit can be connected to your ADHD symptoms, plus offer tips on how to break them so that they don’t break you.
1. Putting off or avoiding grocery shopping and opting for takeout
We’ve all been there before: Time gets away from us and before we know it, our fridge and pantries are nearly empty. However, for people with ADHD, procrastination may be more of a pattern than an occasional whoops! moment.
“Executive dysfunction and overwhelm are the main culprits when it comes to grocery shopping,” Madelyn Larouche, RD, aka the ADHD Dietitian in Charlotte, North Carolina, tells SELF. “We struggle with planning and time management, and are motivated by things that we’re interested in: novelty, and urgency,” Larouche, who has ADHD herself, says. This is why ordering takeout can seem so enticing—it’s often tasty, easy, and doesn’t require a lot of planning.
Additionally, not feeling confident about what to buy at the grocery store can make you feel overwhelmed, which can lead you to quit before you even start. “ADHDers struggle with multistep activities,” Dr. Stewart says. In other words, it can be hard to see each step clearly (search for recipes, make a list, plan a time to go shopping, etc.), which can complicate the planning process.
What to do: What resolves your grocery shopping overwhelm may look different than what works for another person with ADHD, and that’s okay—there’s no one right way to do this.
Larouche offers a program called Food Freedom with ADHD, and one of her tips for reducing takeout orders is to simplify your grocery list. She instructs her clients to pick out groceries that will make two different breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for the week. “Make a grocery list of what you’ll need and stick to it,” she says. “The simpler, the better. Use shortcut options like microwave rice, pre-cut veggies, or pre-cooked proteins. This will reduce the steps and time involved in the cooking process and you’ll be more confident to execute.”
Dr. Stewart offers templates to her clients to help them construct meals for the week and pick out grocery items. The gist: Pick a few proteins, veggies, and starches, and then test out different combinations throughout the week for multiple meals. “It’s a way to reduce decision-making and decrease the cognitive load of meal planning,” she says.
2. Forgetting to eat during the day
When you’re slammed at work, it can feel all-consuming, and in some cases, cause you to skip lunch or snacks. People with ADHD may miss meals frequently due to hyperfocus—a state where they tune out everything around them apart from the task they’re working on—more so than people without ADHD. As a result, this could lead to underfueling or even binge-eating later at night, Larouche explains.
“When our body isn’t getting the nourishment it needs during the day, it’s not getting the calories it needs to survive and thrive,” she says. “Our body’s response to that is like, ‘Hey I’m starving, I’m going to eat anything and everything because I haven’t eaten all day and I don’t know when you’ll feed me next.’”
What to do: Larouche recommends setting reminders or even alarms on your phone or laptop to help you remember when it’s time to take a break to eat. “Aiming to eat within one to twp hours of waking up and every three to four hours after that is ideal,” she says.
3. Having difficulty ordering at restaurants
When Dr. Honos-Webb brought up this point, I felt seen. One of the reasons I love dining in NYC is that many restaurants limit their menu options to just one or two pages. This is my ideal scenario—looking at a menu with dozens of options is overwhelming and makes it harder for me to know what I really want. The paradox of choice can slow down my decision-making. Sometimes I feel fatigued looking through all of the options, so I’ll poll my friends and see what they’re getting or ask the server for a recommendation and just go with that.
Apart from being overwhelmed with options, Dr. Honos-Webb also points out two common characteristics of ADHD that can delay the decision-making process: getting easily distracted and talking too much with your dinner crew. Both of these can slow or even impair your decision-making, especially when you’re on a time limit to get your order in.
What to do: Research your options beforehand if you can. If the restaurant posts their menu online, consider choosing your top three picks before you get there. That way, you don’t have as many dishes to choose from when you only have a few minutes to decide.
4. Using food as stimulation
“People with ADHD can get bored really easily,” Dr. Pumar says. “And food is fun, it’s interesting, exciting, and a lot of foods release dopamine.” Because low dopamine production and ADHD are connected, people with the condition are often seeking out ways they can produce more of it (whether or not they consciously realize this).
“Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that helps you stay motivated, focused, and feel a sense of pleasure,” Larouche says. “Folks with ADHD typically find themselves craving carb-rich foods or foods that are crunchy, salty, sweet, or sour.” That’s because all of these foods often make us feel good at that moment. “Simple carbs like fruit juice, candy, and cookies will give us that immediate source of dopamine we are seeking,” she adds.
Additionally, functional imaging studies have explored people’s responses to food images and found that people with ADHD or binge eating disorder have stronger responses than those without either disorder. “And among the people with binge eating disorder and ADHD, the response was even higher,” Dr. Stewart says.
What to do: “There is nothing wrong with using food as stimulation,” Larouche says. Many people use food and mealtime to connect with others and enjoy themselves, and part of that can absolutely include eating foods that are delicious and satisfying. But cultivating awareness can help you make sure you don’t accidentally fill up on unhealthy foods that don’t satisfy and nourish you (or that make you feel bleh after). For example: “If you find yourself craving carb-rich foods, pair the carb with a protein or a fat for a more satisfying snack that will help you feel satiated and support stable blood sugar levels.”
Of course, if eating for stimulation is masking binge eating patterns, Dr. Honos-Webb points out that emotional dysregulation, a common symptom of ADHD, could be at play: “There’s that expression, ‘Some people eat their feelings,’” she says. “Emotional regulation would be another way to address those emotions.” For example, instead of reaching for a bag of salty chips after a stressful conversation with a boss or your partner, the first step might be to pause and validate yourself by saying, “I’m feeling really angry.” Then, calm yourself down by doing some deep breathing. “I might say, ‘How am I going to feel about this a month from now? Is it really that big of a deal?’” Dr. Honos-Webb says. Using these tools to channel the why you want the food (or in this case, the immediate dopamine rush) can help you regulate your impulsivity.
FYI, it’s okay to ask for help.Choosing when to eat and what to eat (and where to eat) involves a lot of decision-making, which can fatigue just about anyone’s brain, but especially someone with ADHD. Understanding why you may feel the need to overindulge or, on the flip side, forget about food altogether, can help you establish a healthy relationship with food. And identifying how ADHD may contribute to disordered eating habits can help you cut yourself some slack.
At the end of the day, if you’re struggling to get a hold of your eating habits, a licensed health professional who specializes in ADHD and/or eating disorders can be an invaluable resource. Working with a registered dietitian and a therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist can help you get back on track and gain a much-needed sense of control over mealtime so that eating can be enjoyable (or at least neutral) and not always feel like a battle.
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