Spin off ADHD/sneaking food

[TABmom]

It was mentioned in another thread that sneaking food might be related to ADHD. I have never heard about this. I have an 11 year old boy who has ADHD and whenever I have to intervene in room-cleaning, I find heaps of food wrappers and spoons that had peanut butter. He does not like to eat regular food at meal times- he wants to eat snacky foods - mostly carbs, but also pb. I'd like to know more about how these things could be related? This child would eat nothing but sugar if he could get away with it. His room is disgusting, and I've lectured about bugs/mice, but I've been lecturing about it his whole life and we have yet to have bugs in his room. 

[Storygirl]

We've struggled with this, and I think that for my son, it is the lack of impulse control.

Plus, in his case, having trouble sleeping, which also often goes along with ADHD. So he would wake up in the middle of the night and realize that he could eat snacks with no one knowing. We finally bought a lockable Rubbermaid box, because he could not resist. Now, it is less of a problem for him, because he is able to sleep through the night, but he still binge eats when he is at events like picnics. And he will still eat things that he shouldn't when he is at home alone, and he will eat in large enough quantities to make himself sick (he is super skinny).

[Carrie12345]

One of my kids and I have been dx’ed with ADHD.  I definitely had impulse control issues with food growing up. I suppose I maybe do as an adult, too. But, as an adult, we don’t seem to look at it quite the same way. I don’t have to hide a midnight bowl of junk cereal, because I’m an adult and can do what I want. I don’t have to sneak an extra brownie because I’m the mom and I claim all remainders after dividing! I can grab a bag of candy at the supermarket if I please and no one can tell me how many is enough on a particularly rough day. If I want a spoonful of peanut butter, who’s going to bust me?  On the other hand, I have 40-something years of experience to tell me what line my body is going to regret crossing, so it probably isn’t as bad as it was when I was younger.  Still, what’s the line into abnormal?

All of my kids, ADHD, ASD, and the “norms”, have hidden food in their rooms, snagged a sleeve of crackers, stashed dishes under beds, etc.  For me, it’s mostly a cleanliness issue, and it’s also a fairness issue. No one wants to look forward to a cheese stick from the freshly stocked fridge only to find they’ve all disappeared. 

We don’t have any dietary restrictions, I don’t regularly stock junky snack foods, and I’ve always believed in eating when hungry, so there’s not a whole lot that’s off limits. I see them as pretty normal, gross kids who like to eat in bed.  Today I have to have my 8yo vacuum granola out of his carpet.  Granola!  At Halloween or Christmas or whatever, it’s definitely candy wrappers.  If they had more access to junk, I’m sure it would be more junk.

It drives me nuts, for sure, but I don’t see it as a mental health issue.