Food Perceptions in Adults with and without ADHD

Shirley Hershko; Samuele Cortese; Eyal Ert; Anna Aronis; Adina Maeir; Yehuda Pollak

doi:10.1159/000524315

Food Perceptions in Adults with and without ADHD

Psychopathology. 2022;55(5):292-300. doi: 10.1159/000524315. Epub 2022 May 5.

Authors

Shirley Hershko¹, Samuele Cortese², Eyal Ert³, Anna Aronis¹, Adina Maeir⁴, Yehuda Pollak⁵

Affiliations

¹ The Institute of Biochemistry, Food and Nutrition, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
² Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
³ Department of Agricultural Economics and Administration, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
⁴ The School of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
⁵ The Seymour Fox School of Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.

PMID: 35512646
DOI: 10.1159/000524315

Abstract

Introduction: Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have unhealthy eating habits, associated with overweight/obesity. We explored whether they present with different food-related benefit/risk perceptions, compared to those without ADHD.

Methods: One hundred five university students with (n = 36) and without (n = 69) ADHD, aged 22-30, participated in the study. They rated the level of frequency and likelihood of food consumption, as well as the perceived attractiveness, convenience, and risk of 32 healthy and unhealthy food items.

Results: The findings revealed significantly lower healthy/unhealthy food frequency consumption ratios for the ADHD group compared with the non-ADHD one but no differences in the ratios of estimated likelihood of food consumption and perceptions (attractiveness, convenience, and risk).

Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated a discrepancy between the eating behavior (more unhealthy eating patterns in adults with ADHD compared with controls) and their food-related perceptions (same perceptions regarding the benefit and risk of foods in both groups).

Keywords: Adults; Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; Eat; Food; Perceptions.

MeSH terms

Adult
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / complications
Case-Control Studies
Feeding Behavior
Humans