Eating and dietary behaviours in adults with Tourette syndrome

Posted on 20 October 2026 by Pippa McClounan

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A summary of a research study supported by TA

The role of rigidity, obsessive-compulsive and sensory behaviours in predicting food neophobia in adults with Tourette syndrome

Dr Bobbie Smith and Dr Amanda Ludlow: University of Hertfordshire

Background

Previous studies indicate that both adults and children with Tourette syndrome often show heightened reactions to new or unfamiliar foods—a pattern known as food neophobia, characterised by reluctance or anxiety about trying novel foods.

Methods:

In this study, 54 adults with Tourette syndrome and 54 adults without completed an online questionnaire. The survey measured:

• how much they avoid new foods
• how repetitive their behaviours are
• how sensitive they are to tastes, textures, and other sensations
• how many obsessive-compulsive tendencies they have.

What the study found

Adults with Tourette syndrome scored higher on everything: higher levels of food neophobia, more repetitive behaviours, more sensory sensitivity, more obsessive‑compulsive tendencies.

What predicted food neophobia

Several traits were linked to being more fearful of new foods: repetitive movements, needing things to stay the same (insistence on sameness), sensitivity to taste and touch, overall obsessive‑compulsive tendencies. When all of these were analysed together, only obsessive‑compulsive tendencies stood out as the strongest and most important predictor of food neophobia.

What this means

Even though sensory issues and repetitive behaviours play a role, obsessive‑compulsive tendencies are the main factor driving food neophobia in adults with Tourette syndrome. In other words, people with Tourette may avoid new foods mostly because of underlying OCD‑like processes rather than sensory or behavioural reasons alone.

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