The Links Between Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder & Binge Eating

While it doesn’t often receive a lot of attention, obesity is a common comorbidity of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). An analysis from 2024 found that having ADHD increased the risk for being overweight by 56% (Zhu 2024), and eating disorders are likely to be at least a part of the reason why. Individuals with ADHD are 3.8 times more likely to have an eating disorder, 4.1 times more likely to have binge eating disorder (BED) and 4.7 times more likely to have binging episodes (Nazar 2016). Other evidence suggests that children with ADHD symptoms are more at risk for binging behaviors during adolescence (Sonneville 2015).

The Overlap Between ADHD and Binge Eating

The common link between binging and ADHD may revolve around dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved with the process of reward signaling. Activities that provide pleasure typically increase dopamine signaling in the brain. A study in young adults with and without ADHD found that individuals with ADHD were more likely to have binge-eating traits (Martin 2020). When shown pictures of food, the reward centers in the brain’s of individuals with ADHD showed higher levels of activation. The results suggest heightened desire and pleasure responses around food in subjects with ADHD which could lead to binging behaviors.

Another issue that likely ties ADHD and binge eating behaviors together is problems with impulse control. Research in children with ADHD suggests that impulse control may be one of the primary deficits in children with the condition (Wodka 2007). Similarly, research on BED suggests problems with the brain’s impulse control circuits (Kessler 2016). The overlap of poor impulse control between the two conditions may explain why individuals with ADHD often have overlapping symptoms of BED.

Treatment Considerations

For anyone struggling with binge eating or obesity, evaluating for ADHD may yield significant insights. For those who have ADHD, appropriate treatment may help with ADHD symptoms and improve impulse control around food.

It’s worth noting that stimulants used for treating ADHD increase dopamine and have well-known side effects that include reduced appetite and weight loss. While this shouldn’t be used as a blanket excuse to prescribe everyone with ADHD and BED stimulant medication, it hints at the similarities underlying both conditions. Strategies that improve dopamine signaling, medications or otherwise, may play a role in treatment for both ADHD and BED.

While the research is somewhat thin, clinical experience strongly suggests that functional and integrative treatments for ADHD often help to reduce binging behaviors, likely through improved impulse control. Some polyphenols, the colored compounds found in a number of different foods and herbs, including berries, chocolate, turmeric, green tea, grape seeds and pine bark, have notable benefits for ADHD. Pine bark extract has been explicitly shown to help ADHD symptoms, including impulsivity (Hsu 2021). Green tea is also well known for potential weight loss effects and contains constituents that appear to be relevant for improving cognitive function in ADHD (Shahinfar 2023, Anas Sohail 2021).

And strategies for improving impulsivity shouldn’t overlook the evidence suggesting a role for vitamin D. A study in bariatric surgery candidates found that impulsivity is related to obesity and eating habits and that lower vitamin D may be a contributing factor (Wrzosek 2018). Patients with eating disorders have also been shown to have higher impulsivity when vitamin D is deficient (Todisco 2020, Meneguzzo 2022). For ADHD, evidence suggests that vitamin D can improve symptoms with supplementation (Gan 2019).

Conclusion

For any individual struggling with obesity or binge eating, ADHD should be considered as a potential comorbid condition. When present, treating the impulsivity that underlies both conditions through medications or integrative approaches is often a more effective strategy to help control symptoms.