This study followed adults through daily life to see whether what they ate and how much they moved related to impulsivity from moment to moment. Of 43 adults with ADHD and 185 without ADHD who took part, 36 and 137 remained after exclusions. The ADHD group was older on average, had a smaller share of women and differed in body mass index. The researchers are based in Germany, but the paper does not say where people were recruited.
Over three days, people reported what they ate and how impulsive they felt, and their movement was measured. In both groups, eating more sugar, saturated fat or protein at the same time was not linked to feeling impulsive. Eating fat and sugar together did not strengthen impulsivity, and movement did not soften any link with food.
When people moved more than their own usual amount, they were slightly more likely to feel impulsive, though not more strongly. The authors stress this does not mean movement causes impulsivity. A person might move after feeling impulsive, to counter it.
Looking at everyone together, adults with ADHD felt impulsive more often and more strongly. They reported no impulsivity in 28.6% of time periods, compared with 58.2% for adults without ADHD.
Food and impulsivity were self-reported, and people may have skipped reports when more impulsive. The study could not show which came first, and three days may be too short to capture every link.
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The numbers Stats and what the terms mean
The statistics behind the plain-language claims above.
- Ruf, 2023: link between moving more than usual and the chance of NOT feeling impulsive, adults with ADHD, estimate −0.09 (SE 0.03; 95% CI −0.14 to −0.04).
- Ruf, 2023: the same link in adults without ADHD, estimate −0.03 (SE 0.01; 95% CI −0.05 to −0.01).
- Ruf, 2023: chance of not feeling impulsive per 1-unit rise in movement, adults with ADHD, fell from 11.7% to 10.8% (a decrease of 0.9%) when all other predictors are 0.
- Ruf, 2023: the same chance in adults without ADHD, fell from 69.2% to 68.6% (a decrease of 0.6%).
- Ruf, 2023: sugar intake and the chance of not feeling impulsive, adults with ADHD, −0.01, 95% CI −0.22 to 0.18.
- Ruf, 2023: saturated fat intake and the chance of not feeling impulsive, adults with ADHD, −0.10, 95% CI −0.70 to 0.45.
- Ruf, 2023: protein intake and the chance of not feeling impulsive, adults with ADHD, −0.09, 95% CI −0.38 to 0.16.
- Ruf, 2023: having ADHD and the chance of not feeling impulsive, all participants together, −1.69 (SE 0.32, 95% CI −2.34 to −1.06).
- Ruf, 2023: having ADHD and how strongly impulsivity was felt, all participants together, 0.36 (SE 0.08, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.51).
- Ruf, 2023: time periods with no impulsivity reported, 28.6% (180/629) for adults with ADHD and 58.2% (1,434/2,464) for adults without ADHD. What the terms mean:
- estimate The size and direction of a link in the study's model; a minus sign here means a lower chance of not feeling impulsive, which is a higher chance of feeling impulsive.
- SE The standard error, a measure of how precise the estimate is; smaller means more precise.
- 95% CI The range the true value likely falls in, given the data.
Source: Ruf A, Neubauer A, Koch E, et al.. Microtemporal Dynamics of Dietary Intake, Physical Activity, and Impulsivity in Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Ecological Momentary Assessment Study Within Nutritional Psychiatry. JMIR Mental Health (2023). doi:10.2196/46550