Is over eating a symptom of dementia?

Last night I came across this: MEDIA RELEASE Researchers have discovered why some people with dementia are compelled to massively overeat, opening the way for better diagnosis and the development of new treatment for the disease. This was on a site called Neuroscience Research Australia. I thought I'd found something new until I saw it was dated 2010!!

Chappy, I'm sure there are multiple reasons why a person would always be hungry. You may want to speak with your mom's doctor to see what may be causing her to always be hungry. Along time ago I heard that tapeworm can also make you very hungry since it lives off of everything you eat. I'm not sure what causes tapeworm, but you may want to have her checked for all sorts of intestinal parasites. You may actually be supplies to find what all is living in her intestines, because most people actually have some sort of intestinal parasite and don't even know it. This is why internal flushing is highly recommended.

There are times my mother just ate lunch and an hour later says she is hungry again. But now that I find she may have a problem with her pancreas, would that be why she would want to eat again? I appreciate your question kaydii

Neither of my friends with dementia were overeaters. In fact, one of them was an under eater. Obviously not everyone with dementia is an overeater, and I never knew this was a trait among dementia patients until I came on here. In fact, knowing that neither of the people I knew with dementia were overeaters, I was actually shocked to hear that this was a thing among demented people since I only ever knew two personally. Again, neither of the people I ever knew were overeaters

You had better be careful the eating everything in sight doesn't cause the friend to become a diabetic.

Oh how I hate auto correct again! I said "one of the people", not one of the 10 people!

I knew someone with dementia and I must add that one of the 10 people also did not shower and he smelled terrible! I only wish I would've had some help early on because we would've given him a G.I. bath and cleaned him up. He used to have a neighbor living upstairs from him who even complained about the smell from all the way upstairs. When the neighbor confronted me with it, I told her I had no help to do anything about it, and that I'm only one person. I told her that if I were to do anything about it, I'm going to need more manpower than just myself because I can't do anything about it on my own. Oh how I would've loved to have given this person a G.I. bath with a little bit of help from other people! When the neighbor gets to complaining from all the way upstairs because they can smell someone from that far away, it's time to intervene and do something about it. I'm actually very surprised his landlord didn't try to do something about it because the smell was disturbing other residents, which may have actually been part of the reason why everyone left

I can't help noticing the many posts saying dementia patients crave sugary foods but Don over eats mainly savory foods. He's constantly in the kitchen fetching a bowl of soup, a ham or salmon sandwich, buttered toast or buttered crumpets. He also eats several bowls of cornflakes/weetabix a day but said he's cut the sugar right down on those (I asked why n had to stifle a laugh when he said he's worried about getting sugar diabetes)! Don showing concern over his health? That's a first!

Some drs call Alz Diabetes 3.
Doesn't mean you have 1 or 2.
Aside from that sugar addiction is real. It leaves you wanting more. The body isn't satisfied, doesn't have what it needs so sends out messages to eat. It takes a few days to get off of artificial sweetners, soda and starches and sugar and gluten and excess salt and alcohol and processed foods ( full of salt and sugar). But if you add healthy fats and lots of veggies and fruit, eggs ( unless allergic) seeds and nuts, you can break the cycle and curb the constant craving for the addiction. Try this on yourself first and you will be empowered to try it on your elder. Add a walk and you'll be feeling great. I think overeating is a symptom of the Standard American Diet. No dementia required.

My MIL eats all the time. I chalked it up to the diabetes but it sounds like the dementia is partly to blame reading everyone's comments. It drives me crazy with the candy or finding food rolled up in a napkin set down anywhere. I have caught her eating out of a bag of her sugar free "sugar" by the handfuls. Now I have to hide stuff that she is not supposed to eat.

Hi Stevensmom,
I asked him if he's depressed but he is adamant he's not. He forgets he's eaten dinner, still gets his own meals and one night he had dinner then an hour later made another dinner and said it was the first. He gets AM and PM muddled, came back from the toilet one day and asked me what I was doing up at this time of the morning. It was 3.45pm. His whole personality has changed, he's impossible to reason with and quickly becomes aggressive. He fails to retain most of what I say, no longer reads books he used to spend hours reading, he severely self neglects, has gone 2 months without a shower or clothes change but believes he showers daily as he always used to do. He refuses to see a doctor so I've written all these and more on a list to show our doctor.

Not necessarily. I knew two people with dementia, and they were definitely not overeaters. In fact, one was an undereater to the point he was actually skin and bones. I never knew why he wasn't eating, and he did a very good job at hiding it for quite a while before I happened to discover it.

Wow- I never thought about it as a symptom, but recognize it. And good explanations, especially about the brain trying to heal itself and needing energy.

My aunt always says she's not hungry at meal time, but we tell her it's ready, and we'd like her to join us at the table, even if it is just for coffee. Then she scoffs down a meal. She also eats lots of sweets. I believe she can no longer tell if she is hungry, or remember if she has recently eaten anything.

From what I understand - when a person has dementia - the brain is constantly trying to heal itself. There fore it causes the body to crave food for the energy to perform the healing (which it really cannot do with dementia). Especially carbohydrates. Carbs are high in sugars - pasta, bread, candy. This also causes a vicious cycle for the body- the more you eat of these foods the more you crave. My mother is constantly on me to provide her with chocolates! She goes through them like crazy. Also, causing the sugar highs and lows - and thus lots of tiredness and sleepiness and crankiness. Like I said - a vicious circle.

I attended a workshop on dementia last year, and the presenter discussed this constant eating. One thing mentioned is that the brain needs a lot more energy due to the misfiring in the connections....the brain works overtime, trying to send signals the right way, or to get memory issues to work. Also the brain requires a lot of carbohydrates to function. She said people with dementia and Alzheimer's may need 4000 calories a day, just due to the activity going on in the brain, and that is why they want to eat and snack constantly, crave sweets and yet do not gain weight in proportion to what they want to eat.

My husband sneaks downstairs while I'm asleep and raids whatever he can find. I wake up to find M&Ms on the floor, crumbs under and on the kitchen table. If he can't find sweets, bread will do. He has gained some weight, and at mealtime, I try to get him to eat fruit for dessert and limit the cookies to two. This sneaking in the middle of the night interfered with a procedure that was scheduled requiring him to come to the hospital fasting since midnight. We had to reschedule because he finished a box of crackers at some undetermined time? Who knew, I was asleep again! The next time my son came to our house and we blocked the door of the bedroom. He slept on the landing of the stairs leading to the kitchen, and I gave my husband a Xanax before he went to bed at 10:30. This worked and the procedure went without a hitch.

Hi Anne, I've been reading back entries in the diary I started in 2014 and even then I mention he's got memory and concentration problems and fails to retain information. No he doesn't live alone as I live with him. His reaction if I mention his over eating is to deny it. And if he detects the slightest criticism in my voice he will become aggressive. As for him seeing a doctor, he refuses and I know from experience he has to be at deaths door before he will agree to seeing one. And yes I do feel he is unsafe using the cooker as one night he went to bed after putting his dinner in the oven!

I don't believe in letting them eat and gain weight. My Mom gained almost 10lbs after starting daycare. When I saw what they fed them for lunch I saw why. So dinner on those days are light. Sweets are given but watched. She has lost 4lbs. I can't afford her to gain. She will have a hard time getting up and I can't lift up dead weight.

Quite interesting to read the responses. My Dad, 91, with ALZ wants to eat at least 3 meals a day...like clockwork. He is always asking for cookies. And while he hasn't gained tons of weight he does tend to gain ...so we do watch. And the sign of his weight gain is his pants size! Have found though, that he is starting to eat less at dinner..maybe he knows dessert is coming up next!

I would would check with their physician. ? Diabetes, my mother always ate second meals because she never remembered eating the first one. No inhibitions, they see it, they want it. I always let my mother be.

I find that people with dementia or head injury tend to eat especially sweets. It may be because the brain no longer controls the feeling of being full, hungry or thirsty.

Perhaps it goes along with the general loss of control many dementia patients experience. There's a lot on this site that talks about a loved one "losing their filter" having to do with the person suddenly blurting out inappropriate things that they would have never said in public before the AD. With food, "will power" is gone so a couple of cookies is now the whole whole package in an afternoon.

Dad, now dead of Nov. 2, 2015 would eat tons of stuff and never gain weight. My husband use to say that he had a hallow legs. We did not know where the food was going. Had dementia, hepatitis C, liver cancer. He kept losing weight. Think there is a connection. Know there is a connection.

What does a decrease in executive functioning have to do with overeating? Persons with dementia due to Alzheimer's frequently lose their ability to plan ahead and make decisions, etc.
But I do agree that overeating and dementia go together, especially sweet stuff. I have had two clients lose large amounts of weight in a relatively short period. Also if the person had OCD tendencies earlier in life, then eating can be viewed as a replacement for other compulsive behaviors.
The mere mention of 'ice cream" can distract persons with dementia when they acting in a distressing manner.
I wish neuroscience would better explain this behavior, as it is pretty common.

My dad eats meals up to four times a day sometimes, with dessert each time. If I leave fruit or snack he'll munch those, too. Food has been a comfort to him through much of his life, having grown up through the depression.

As he approaches his 99th birthday, with limited sight, hearing & mobility, he is easily bored during the times he is awake. Other than gaining a few pounds after he returned from hospital stays where he lost significant weight from IVs and limited food selections he liked, his weight stays stable. I watch it for signs of cardiac problems/water retention. He plays computer gains, but acknowledges his thinking speed has slowed in recent months.

I have a theory about this...my husband has Alzheimer's, diagnosed 8 years ago. About the last 5 years he too eats constantly unless he's sleeping. My theory is that he is doing something he can still do on his own.
He no longer drives, no more fishing, no more working in his shop....but he can go in the fridge and get an apple, peel it, cut it up and eat it. He can pour himself a cup of coffee and get a bowl of ice cream. He's had up to 7-8 bowls of ice cream in one evening thinking each one is his first. What the heck...I just let him eat. And no, he doesn't gain weight. So the weight gain control must have something to do with the diagnosis.
I think when they are stripped of so much, have terrible confusion and can't just sit all day, they will find something they can do without help from others. And in most cases they can still eat!
Hope this helps...

Great question! Drs never told me anything about this. Of course the drs didnt do anything but give more prescriptions. But my hubby ate non stop the entire time he was conscious. Would throw his dinner plate in the floor food included and demand junk. I never knew there was a connection. Back when I started searching the internet 20 years ago there just wasn't any good resources. My hubby died in January 2016 and I am still finding answers to unanswered questions thanks to all of you. God Bless each and every one of you. I will keep you all in my prayers. If no one has told you that they love you today...I do. Thank you for all you do. There is life after this. Mine is very happy and active. That was my blessing.

Absolutely, to the doctor with a list of symptoms. My mom doesn't eat very much at meals but snacks a lot. She cannot remember 10 minutes after she ate that she did so. Overeating is also a sign of depression. How does your friend act overall? When you ask what he ate, can he remember? Does he forget other things? Is he confused about times and recent events? Best wishes!

I'm falling on the floor laughing. I binge eat a lot and am not, yet, demented. Please go to this site for help: oa

But remember, as with all addicts, nothing will work until he is ready.

At the same time, if he is eating so much without gaining weight, then something is going on. Doctor, as you have already said.

Good luck!

Yes my Dad is going to be 89 and has some dementia. We have had to hide some food from him because he eats everything in sight. Anything he can grab and eat disappears. Twelve pounds of bananas went in two days! He has not gained weight either. I believe he doesn't remember that he has eaten or that his many bathroom trips leaves him empty, therefore, he is constantly hungry.