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“I have to listen to whichever part of the body makes sense”: A qualitative study of intuitive eating in autistic/AuDHD people

Phaedra Longhurst, C. Blair Burnette, M. Ariel Cascio, Ellen Maloney and Tracy L. Tylka

IN BRIEF

A 2026 UK qualitative study exploring how autistic and AuDHD adults experience intuitive eating, including sensory needs, body cues, external supports, food autonomy, diet culture and weight stigma.

FROM THE MEMBER

A study asking twenty autistic and AuDHD adults what eating intuitively actually looks like for them, and finding that external cues, routines and sensory needs belong in the picture alongside hunger and fullness.
Most intuitive eating writing assumes a clear line to your own body signals. This paper takes seriously what happens when that line is noisier, or arrives late, or arrives as something other than hunger. I came away with fewer assumptions about what listening to your body is supposed to look like, which felt like the point.
Recommended by Helen

OUR REVIEW

This 2026 study explored intuitive eating with 20 autistic and AuDHD adults from the UK. Participants described eating in ways that involved physical, emotional and sensory needs, and using external cues as well as internal body signals. The researchers identified neuronormativity, diet culture and weight stigma as possible barriers, and suggest that conventional models of intuitive eating may need adapting for neurodivergent people. Its lived-experience-led approach is a strength, but this is a small qualitative study and should not be generalised to all autistic or AuDHD people.

 

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Why this may be of benefit

 

For practitioners, neurodivergent people and others supporting neurodivergent people, this paper may broaden ideas about what responsive eating can look like, and support less shaming, more individualised conversations about food, body awareness and nourishment.

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Anything worth knowing before someone reads or listens

 

May be behind a paywall depending on institutional access. Discusses food, body image and weight stigma throughout.

ISBN (if relevant)

10.1016/j.bodyim.2026.102140

Link to further information to access full resource or to download resource