Eating disorder resources for families & friends

ADHD is on the rise

ADHD, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is one of the most common mental health conditions among children in the U.S. The diagnosis rate of ADHD has increased over the past 20 years due in large part to increased awareness, decreased stigma and greater access to healthcare.

This brain disorder is associated with difficulty concentrating, staying organized and controlling impulses. Although children and adults with this diagnosis may appear to be bursting with energy, they experience trouble channeling that energy effectively and controlling their impulsivity.

They may act before they’ve thought things through, speak out of turn or say things they later regret and thus both personal and work relationships may suffer.

The connection between ADHD and overeating

{{blog-button="/cta-buttons"}}

We live in a culture where we are constantly enticed with high-caloric foods. This can be particularly challenging for those who eat in reaction to environmental cues rather than due to feelings of hunger.

Like those with disordered eating, people with ADHD often deal with boredom, stress and intense feelings by overeating in order to soothe themselves. Those with ADHD may be likely to forget to eat and to binge later. They may also have trouble planning and shopping ahead, which can result in spur-of-the-moment and uncontrolled eating.

According to a national 2016 parent survey, 6 in 10 children with ADHD had at least one other mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder (source: Data and Statistics About ADHD | CDC).

Research focuses on connections between ADHD and overeating in adolescents and adults. A recent study conducted by researchers at the Child Study Center at New York University’s Langone Medical Center found that men who were diagnosed as children with ADHD were twice as likely to be overweight in a 33-year follow-up study compared to those who were not diagnosed with the condition.

The researchers attributed the higher incidence of obesity occurring in adults with ADHD to lack of impulse control and poor planning skills leading to poor food choices and irregular eating habits.

Armed with data like this, it’s critically important that children and adolescents with ADHD are taught healthy eating habits in order to help avoid developing disordered eating patterns.

Neurotransmitter deficiencies and ADHD

Experts agree that ADHD is caused by an imbalance in brain chemistry. More specifically, the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine may be in short supply in the brains of those with ADHD.

Although too much norepinephrine can contribute to anxiety, too little can cause problems with concentration and learning. Those with a deficiency in norepinephrine have trouble blocking out distractions and organizing their lives.

Dopamine is essential for controlling impulses and enabling a person to sit still and wait. People lacking dopamine can act impulsively, blurt out opinions, burst out in anger and later feel regret. As dopamine is an essential part of the body’s reward circuit, a deficiency in this neurotransmitter intensifies the urge to indulge in behaviors such as overeating, substance abuse and other risk-taking behaviors to achieve the same reward others get from less harmful behaviors.

People whose brains are low in dopamine often self-medicate with high-caloric food because of its ability to activate dopamine in the common reward pathway.

A deficiency in the two neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine can lead to the following behaviors related to eating:

• Poor awareness of internal cues of hunger and satiety, or fullness
• Inability to follow a meal plan
• Inability to judge portion size accurately
• Inability to stop bingeing or purging
• Distraction by continual thoughts of food, weight and body shape
• Increased desire to overeat, especially high calorie, “reward” type foods
• Poor self-esteem due to repeated failures of self-control

Does ADHD cause eating disorders?

In patients with coexisting psychiatric and eating problems or co-occurring disorders, which came first?

Is ADHD the switch that turns on disordered eating, or does the eating disorder leave the brain so undernourished that it can’t function optimally? This varies depending on the individual person.

In some people, eating disturbances evolve with other psychiatric symptoms. In others, signs of a psychiatric disorder are not apparent until the disordered eating patterns are firmly established. And still in others, problems with mood and problems with appetite seem to have always coexisted.

Regardless of the order of onset, the simultaneous presence of disordered eating and a mental illness means that effective treatment for the disordered eating must address both conditions. This is the only approach that can lead to recovery and prevent the all-too-common patterns of relapse.

ADHD is commonly missed in eating disorder diagnoses

The relationship between psychiatric disorders and disordered eating is complex. ADHD is the most missed diagnosis in relation to food and appetite problems. Adults seeking treatment for binge eating or obesity should be screened for ADHD. Effective treatment for ADHD can significantly help patients off the roller coaster of disordered eating.

Often the strong urge to binge or to self-medicate with food subsides once the impulsivity and inattention of ADHD are treated. A person can experience a new ability to tune into the body’s signals, control cravings and improve impulse control.

Seeking help for ADHD and eating disorders

We know finding care can be tough. Monte Nido is here for you. If you are concerned that you, or a loved one, may have an eating disorder, please reach out to us.

{{blog-button="/cta-buttons"}}

Orthorexia has been getting a lot of attention as of late within the eating disorder field and even in mainstream media. As an eating disorder professional, I am thankful for the press that this condition has been receiving – mostly because orthorexia is a big deal.

{{blog-button="/cta-buttons"}}

While many people living with this condition may report that it started off as a positive way to improve their health, for those who have the biological, social and psychological precursors for developing an eating disorder, these seemingly innocuous lifestyle changes can actually have very opposite effects.

In our current culture, cutting out entire food groups like sugar, fats, carbohydrates and dairy are commended. Foods have been given ambiguous labels that have unhelpful and even harmful labels like “good” and “bad” attached to them. For this reason, many of those living with orthorexia can easily be identified as “health conscious” or “healthy” to the untrained eye, making many who may be suffering from malnutrition and debilitating rigidity think that their lifestyle is “normal.”

How Do We Differentiate Orthorexia from “Healthy Eating?”

Let’s break down some of the most common symptoms of orthorexia:

1. A fixation over the quality of food

This is really at the core of orthorexia. Individuals living with orthorexia are extremely focused – and often obsessive – over the quality and purity of their food. Individuals with this condition often limit “go foods” to those that are organic, farm fresh, whole, raw and/or vegan. The quantity of food is typically less important than that quality.

2. Inflexible eating patterns

Someone with orthorexia is likely incredibly rigid with their food consumption. Anything considered by the individual to be “bad” or “unhealthy” will likely be avoided. A common example of this inflexibility is if someone with orthorexia were stuck on an island, and the only food available to them was something that they have deemed “unhealthy” they would choose to eat nothing.

3. Severe emotional turmoil if “rules” are broken

If someone strays from their rigid eating patterns, or from their strict self-prescribed exercise regimen, severe anxiety, distress, shame, guilt and/or depression typically follow.

4. Cutting out entire food groups

This certainly tells you how rigid these orthorexia-fueled rule-based diets can become. Elimination of entire food groups is a common occurrence for this population of people, commonly including processed foods, sugar, meat, dairy products, carbohydrates and/or gluten.

5. Constant worry about sickness or disease

Back to the whole “good” versus “bad” foods – many individuals with orthorexia believe they will fall ill if they consume foods that are not “whole” or “clean” often considering these foods to be “poison.” To them, the risk of these foods causing sickness or diseases – although mostly unfounded – far outweighs eating that specific food.

6. Anxiety simply being around certain foods

Someone with orthorexia might feel an intense need to separate themselves from their forbidden foods. They may feel incredibly uncomfortable or leave a room if that food can be seen. Unfortunately, isolating is a common avoidance technique for those with orthorexia–skipping social events that will have “fear foods”—often leading to depression and intensified thought disturbances and behaviors.

7. This condition isn’t typically driven by poor body image

While individuals with anorexia might exhibit similar patterns of restriction, orthorexia isn’t necessarily rooted in obsessions over appearance or efforts to lose weight. orthorexia is entrenched in the need to eat or be “healthy.”

8. Loss of weight

Although weight is not necessarily a clinical marker of orthorexia, some cases do involve weight loss. An orthorexia diet is an unbalanced diet that often results in malnutrition. While someone with orthorexia may feel as though cutting out certain foods will bring immense health benefits, they are often doing quite the opposite–depleting their own nutrition in vastly limiting food variety. Again, this weight loss is typically not intentional.

What Does It Mean If You or a Loved One Has Orthorexia Symptoms?

Although orthorexia is not an “official” eating disorder in the DSM-5, it can be just as clinically significant as any of the other disorders featured in this manual and can have severe physical and/or mental health repercussions.

If you or someone you know have experienced any of the symptoms above, prompt attention is necessary. Learn more about the specialized treatment for orthorexia and reach out today.

{{blog-button="/cta-buttons"}}

Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental health diagnosis. Part of the reason is that the disease causes devastating physical complications that can affect every system in the body. From our skin and bones to our hearts and brains, anorexia impacts our entire bodies. Below are 6 common complications that can result from anorexia.

{{blog-button="/cta-buttons"}}

1. Amenorrhea and Anorexia Nervosa

A common complication for women and girls with anorexia, amenorrhea is the lack of a menstrual cycle in females of childbearing age. Low body weight is the major cause of amenorrhea in people with anorexia nervosa. Low body weight interrupts the body’s normal hormonal functions, which may halt ovulation. Excessive exercise and stress can cause similar problems. Amenorrhea can impact a woman’s ability to become pregnant and even cause pre-menopausal symptoms like night sweats and irritability.

2. Osteoporosis and Anorexia

Osteoporosis is a loss of bone density that causes bones to become weak, brittle, and easily fracture. People with low body weight produce low levels of estrogen. Estrogen helps the body absorb calcium. Without the proper amount of estrogen, the body has a hard time absorbing the calcium it needs to keep bones healthy.

Unfortunately, osteoporosis is irreversible. But if caught early enough, the loss of bone density that leads to osteoporosis – called osteopenia – can be reversed, usually with simple steps like maintaining an appropriate diet.

3. Bradycardia and Anorexia

 Bradycardia is an abnormally low heart rate – typically below 60 beats per minute. The malnutrition associated with anorexia causes individuals to lose muscle mass. The heart, being a muscle itself, is impacted and shrinks. When this happens, the body will respond by slowing the heart rate to conserve energy.

The problem is that an abnormally low heart rate can cause abnormal heart rhythms that may lead to sudden cardiac arrest. This is particularly true for individuals with heart rates in the 40 beats per minute range and below. Although bradycardia is typically seen in patients who are underweight, it is important to know that it can affect those of any body weight who have experienced a significant and rapid weight loss.

4. Hypoglycemia and Anorexia

Hypoglycemia is a condition caused by low blood sugar (glucose). Glucose is your body’s main source of energy, and it needs a certain amount in order to function properly. Hypoglycemia occurs when your body’s blood glucose drops too low to provide enough energy for your body’s activities. Hypoglycemia occurs when the body does not have enough sustenance to produce glucose. It can cause all kinds of complications – from irritability and confusion to seizures and loss of consciousness.

5. Hair loss and Anorexia

For those living with anorexia, hair loss is a byproduct of malnutrition. Malnutrition depletes our bodies stores of the essential proteins it needs to perform all of its functions. When the body is malnourished it uses the little protein it has available to perform essential functions that keep us alive and stops performing others that are not needed. One of the non-essential functions is hair production. When this happens, individuals may experience hair thinning or loss.

6. Lanugo Hair and Anorexia

Lanugo hair is a soft, downy, peach fuzz that grows on the chests, face, and arms of individuals not receiving enough sustainable nutrients. Typically only seen in infants in the womb and newborn babies, lanugo is the body’s way of creating extra insulation and warmth for those first few weeks of life. After that, body fat takes over and provides us with the warmth and insulation that we need. For individuals living with anorexia, there is often not enough body fat to keep bodies warm so lanugo often grows to trap in what little heat is produced.

How to Seek Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa

The good news is that the majority of these complications are reversible and all of them are preventable with proper intervention and anorexia treatment. If you or someone you love is experiencing any of the symptoms above, we can help.

{{blog-button="/cta-buttons"}}