ADHD, Obesity, and Eating Disorders

In a new article published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, ADHD was found to be associated with obesity in 2 community pediatric mental health clinics.  When binge eating disorder was accounted for, the association was weaker.  In patients taking stimulants, the association was much stronger.  The average age of the patients in this study was 10.8 years old.

Some interesting points to take away from this study include the following:
1)  Binge eating is associated with ADHD, even in preteens, and even in those not taking medication.

2)  It isn't clear whether stimulants cause binge eating or whether people who need stimulants are also more likely to binge eat.  However, it is plausible that people who take stimulants are more likely to binge eat because they don't eat well during the day, and they are trying to make up for lost time.

Parents should be aware of this situation and be sensitive to their child's attitudes toward eating.  Some researchers believe that binge eating in ADHD is different from typical binge eating.  Typical binge eating disorder sometimes is related issues to feeling out of control, such as abuse or a perfectionist type of personality.   In ADHD related binge eating, researchers have noticed that some patients simply do not pay attention to the body's signals of fullness.  This may be why patients with ADHD suffer more from binge eating than from other eating disorders, such as anorexia.

There are some things parents can do to prevent obesity and binge eating disorder:

1)  Parents should teach their children to "listen to their body" and to avoid eating in situations where they may not be paying attention to how much they are eating, such as while watching TV, working/playing on the computer, or reading.    Unless your child is underweight, do not push him or her to eat when he or she is full.

2)  Parents can encourage children to eat at the table, with family or friends, and to eat a certain portion, rather than taking freely from a central plate or from a box, bag or other container.

3)  Finally, if a stimulant is causing symptoms of binge eating, parents should discuss their concerns with their prescribing physician and perhaps get a dietician involved to determine reasonable intakes for their child.

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