ADHD hit children are likely to grow obese
Posted on: 11/Feb/2016 4:27:43 PM
According to a new US study, it is said that women who had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during their childhood are more prone to be obese in comparison with others who never had the disorder. The study results do not talk about the cause and effect. Though the cause or effect of ADHD are not explained in the study, the symptoms are stated to be impulsiveness and difficulty in focusing which may lead to inability to follow healthy eating habits which may even remain in adulthood.
Study author Dr Seema Kumar, a pediatrician and researcher, Mayo clinic children`s research center in Rochester, Minnesota said the research involved several cross-sectional studies to study the relation between childhood ADHD and obesity. Data from 336 adults with childhood ADHD and 665 others without ADHD during childhood were studied. All of them were born between 1976 and 1982. Their medical records like height, weight and medication routines practiced between 1976 and 2010 were taken.
About 34 percent of those who had childhood ADHD were found to be prone to obesity after 20 years of age. The same was 25 percent with those who never had ADHD, the researchers add. However, the difference is considerable.
Participants who was normal and not obese at the time of diagnosing ADHD were 50 percent likely to turn obese during their adulthood as compared to those who never had ADHD at all. It is to be noted that the increased risk of obesity was true only to female participants.
It may be that there are shared underlying abnormalities in the neutral pathways. These may medicate impulse control as well as reward sensitivity in ADHD and appetite and satiety.
Poor sensitivity in ADHD affected individuals may result in disordered eating. Children hit by ADHD may have sleep difficulties. This may result in excessive weight gain along with behavioral and hormonal factors.
