Eating disorders disproportionately impact teens with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) 12 – and we don’t fully understand why.
A growing body of research links ADHD to a higher incidence of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder during puberty and adolescence – a time when a mix of factors, including social media use, can contribute to negative body image and low-self-esteem.
New studies also show that the pandemic triggered eating disorders among teens and worsened symptoms for those with existing eating disorders.34We are just beginning to understand how ADHD influences the development of eating disorders and disordered eating in teens, however it stands to reason that the low self-esteem associated with ADHD, particularly when undiagnosed, could be at least partially to blame, among other ADHD-related factors.Regardless of root cause, eating disorders are serious but treatable conditions.
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