Tag: Interoception

According to research, many adults admit to turning to food to cope with their feelings, making it difficult to discern true hunger. This phenomenon leaves many wondering, 'Why is it hard to tell if I'm hungry?' and how they can regain a clear connection to their body's needs.

According to a 2015 study, approximately 26% of children with ADHD exhibited binge-eating behaviors, a rate significantly higher than their peers without ADHD. For individuals with ADHD, hunger cues often manifest differently due to neurological differences impacting attention, impulse control, and internal body awareness.

According to researchers, interoception is considered the 'eighth sense,' allowing people to perceive and interpret internal body signals like hunger, thirst, and fatigue. These interoceptive hunger cues are the essential internal communications your body sends when it requires nourishment, distinguishing them from external, environmental triggers.

Research indicates that individuals with ADHD are 3.8 times more likely to develop an eating disorder, often driven by a struggle to recognize the body's internal signals. This is largely due to how people with **ADHD struggle with hunger cues**, which can significantly impact nutrition and overall well-being.

According to a 2016 study in *Royal Society Open Science*, people with alexithymia—a difficulty in identifying and describing emotions—also struggle with other internal bodily feelings like hunger. This indicates a more general issue with interoception, the sense of the body’s internal state, which can explain why you can't tell if you're hungry.

According to a study published in the *American Journal of Clinical Nutrition*, eating while distracted can cause individuals to consume significantly more calories, often without registering the food they've eaten. This common phenomenon speaks to the deeper issue that leads many to ask, "Why don't I realize I'm hungry?" The answer often lies in a blend of psychological, physiological, and environmental factors that disrupt our body's natural signaling system.