Researchers Found Possible Link Between ADHD and Kids’ Weight

The risk of obesity is 50 percent higher in the children who have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and don’t take medication for that disorder, a new study suggests.

The researchers also found when children were medicated for ADHD, the risk of being underweight increased in them.

“The findings suggest that obesity and weight loss must be monitored in the children and adolescents with ADHD and ADD. Doctors can prevent the progress of childhood obesity, negative physical health and psychological consequences if they monitor weight standings of these kids.” the researches explained.

The results of the research are being published in the July issue of Pediatrics.
The researchers Molly E. Waring and Kate L. Lapane gathered data on around 63,000 kids and adolescents that were aged between 5 to 17 and the statistics were taken from the National Survey of Children’s Health for the period 2003-04.

The researchers noted that children who suffered ADHD but weren’t taking medication for the disorder had a 1.5 times higher risk of becoming obese if compared with children who didn’t suffer from disorder. While the children who were taking medication for the disease had a 1.6 times higher risk of becoming underweight.

However, the link between ADHD and weight is not convincing for some experts.
Dr. David L. Katz who is director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine says in this connection that we can expect that some ADHD children may be overweight as ADHD as well as childhood obesity are widespread.

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Tags: kids, over weight, research, underweight

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