Content note: This article discusses eating disorder behaviors, body image, and mental health symptoms. Some readers may find this upsetting or uncomfortable. Please read at your own pace and reach out for support if needed. If you are in immediate danger or feel unable to stay safe, call or text 988 in the U.S., or go to the nearest emergency room.
If you have ADHD and binge eating patterns, it can feel confusing and frustrating. You may genuinely want things to change, yet still find yourself pulled into binge eating episodes that feel sudden, intense, and hard to interrupt. For many people, the missing piece is not willpower or motivation. Rather, it is executive function.
Executive function is your brain’s management system. It supports planning, starting, pausing, shifting, and following through. In Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), these skills can be strained. That strain can shape your eating habits and behaviors, as well as how you respond to stress, urges, and emotions.
Quick clarifier: ADHD and eating disorders can overlap
Not everyone with ADHD struggles with binge eating. Not everyone who binge eats has ADHD. Still, research suggests a meaningful link between ADHD symptoms and disordered eating patterns, including binge-type behaviors.
Studies consistently show higher rates of disordered eating and diagnosable eating disorders among people with ADHD compared to those without. A large systematic review found that the odds of a binge eating disorder (BED) diagnosis were significantly higher in ADHD samples than in control groups. Other studies have found notable rates of ADHD symptoms among people seeking treatment for BED.
This overlap can show up across various eating disorders, especially when impulsivity, emotional intensity, and daily stress stack up. Importantly, these associations reflect neurobiological and psychological vulnerabilities, not character flaws.
What executive function looks like in real life
Executive function is not just “being organized.” It includes skills that help you:
- Start tasks (task initiation)
- Stay with tasks (sustained attention)
- Hold information in mind (working memory)
- Plan and prioritize (including meal planning and routines)
- Pause before acting (impulse control)
- Shift gears (cognitive flexibility)
- Regulate feelings (emotional regulation)
When these skills are taxed, it can become harder to eat regularly, recognize early cues of hunger or distress, and use coping tools before an urge escalates into a binge episode.
The ADHD brain and binge eating: why executive function matters
Many people ask, “Why can I manage eating sometimes, then suddenly lose control?” When executive function is overworked, the “pause” between an urge and an action can shrink. Biological psychiatry investigates the biological underpinnings of both ADHD and binge eating, helping us understand how these conditions are connected at a neurobiological level. ADHD is defined by core symptoms like inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity, and that impulsivity can show up as impulsive behaviors in many areas of life, including eating.
Rather than framing binge eating as “lack of control,” it is more accurate to understand it as the brain seeking fast relief when overwhelmed, under-stimulated, or emotionally flooded.
Here are a few pathways that can connect ADHD and binge patterns:
Impulsivity and a shorter pause
For some individuals with ADHD, urges can feel immediate and urgent. That can lead to “autopilot” moments where eating happens quickly and without conscious choice, followed by distress or self-blame. These experiences are common in binge eating patterns and are not a personal failing.
Difficulty concentrating and decision fatigue
Many people do well earlier in the day and struggle later on. Difficulty concentrating, time blindness, and constant switching can drain energy. By evening, executive function can be low, and structure can feel impossible. When cognitive resources are low, structure may feel impossible, increasing vulnerability to binge eating, especially if regular nourishment has been inconsistent earlier in the day.
A note on emotional eating: All humans eat in response to emotions at times. Emotional eating becomes concerning not because emotions are involved, but when eating becomes the primary or only coping strategy available. Limited coping tools, rather than emotional eating itself, increase the risk of binge eating patterns.
Emotional dysregulation and negative emotional states
ADHD can involve rapid or intense emotional shifts. When distress escalates quickly, binge eating may function as a short-term regulator, providing soothing, grounding, or distracting in the moment. The brain repeats what works fast, even if the long-term consequences feel distressing.
Reward processing and brain circuitry
Research suggests that ADHD and binge eating share differences in reward sensitivity and self-regulation networks, including prefrontal systems involved in decision-making and inhibition. When stimulation or relief is low, the brain may seek immediate reinforcement. Eating can provide that quickly, independent of body size or weight status.
When binge eating shifts into binge eating disorder
Binge eating can happen occasionally for many reasons. Binge eating disorder is a clinical diagnosis that includes recurrent episodes and distress. BED occurs across the weight spectrum. Changes in body weight may or may not occur, and weight alone does not determine severity, health impact, or need for care. What matters most is distress, quality of life, and the sense of being stuck in a pattern that feels hard to interrupt.
If you notice ongoing binge episodes, secrecy, shame, or a feeling of losing control once eating begins, support can be helpful.
Risk factors and comorbid mental health concerns
A helpful question is not “What’s wrong with me?” but “What increases vulnerability?” Some risk factors include stress, sleep disruption, chronic overwhelm, and untreated ADHD symptoms. There can also be co-occurring psychiatric disorders or mental disorders like anxiety, depression, or trauma-related symptoms. These are not personal failures. They are treatable mental health conditions, and support can be tailored.
Research involving children, adolescents, and adults suggests that early support for executive function and emotional regulation may reduce the likelihood that disordered eating patterns persist over time.
Treating ADHD and disordered eating together
When you see ADHD co-occur eating disorders, treating one without addressing the other can leave important gaps. A care plan may include:
Skills-based therapy
Approaches that support executive function and emotion regulation can help reduce binge patterns:
- CBT-based tools to address binge-related thought loops and reduce episode frequency
- DBT skills to build distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and urge surfing
- Mindfulness-based practices that support attention regulation and awareness
- Practicing mindful eating techniques focused on attunement rather than control
- ADHD-focused coaching or therapy for planning, reminders, and follow-through
Medical care and medication discussions
For some, treating ADHD includes medication. Stimulant and non-stimulant medications can influence attention, impulsivity, and appetite in different ways. A knowledgeable prescriber can help you monitor changes and adjust treatment to find the medication regimen that best supports you and your individual needs.
Practical executive function supports
These tools can support healthier patterns without shame:
- A “low bandwidth” plan for hard days, with simple steps you can start quickly
- Short pause strategies before an urge, such as naming the feeling and delaying for 90 seconds
- Simple routine anchors to support healthy eating and more consistent food intake
- Gentle structure that supports regular eating habits without rigid rules
A supportive next step in Birmingham, Alabama
If you recognize yourself in eating and adhd symptoms, you are not alone. Many people experience this overlap in ways that feel deeply personal and private. Support can help you build skills for impulse control, emotional regulation, and sustainable routines.
Our eating disorder treatment in Birmingham, Alabama, offers eating disorder treatment that takes executive function and mental health seriously. If you want help understanding your patterns and building a plan that fits your brain, Contact NewCircle for an assessment is a steady first step.
Sources:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025, November 25). About ADHD.https://www.cdc.gov/adhd/about/index.html
- Kaisari, P., Dourish, C. T., Rotshtein, P., & Higgs, S. (2017). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and disordered eating behaviour: A systematic review and a framework for future research. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 72, 336–356.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027273581630232X
- Mayo Clinic. (2023, March 28). Eating disorders: Symptoms and causes.https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/eating-disorders/symptoms-causes/syc-20353603
- National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: What you need to know.https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-what-you-need-to-know
- National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). Eating disorders: What you need to know.https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-disorders
- Ptáček, R., Kuzelová, H., & Stefano, G. B. (2016). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and disordered eating behaviors: Links and implications. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 7, 38.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4780667/
- Nazar, B. P., Bernardes, C., Peachey, G., Sergeant, J., Mattos, P., & Treasure, J. (2016). The risk of eating disorders comorbid with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 49(12), 1045–1057.https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22643
- Reinblatt, S. P. (2015). Are eating disorders related to attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder? Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry, 2(4), 402–412.https://doi.org/10.1007/s40501-015-0060-7
- Shaker, N. M., Mahmoud, D. A. M., Ahmed, M. M., et al. (2025). Frequency of binge eating in medication-adherent patients with ADHD and its relation to impulsivity. Middle East Current Psychiatry, 32, Article 28.https://doi.org/10.1186/s43045-025-00521-1
- Svedlund, N. E., Norring, C., Ginsberg, Y., & von Hausswolff-Juhlin, Y. (2017). Symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among adult eating disorder patients. BMC Psychiatry, 17(1), 19.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-1093-1
