Children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may face more challenges ahead. Authors of a new study, published in the journal Pediatrics claim that the men in their study who had ADHD as children were twice as likely to become obese in middle age, even if symptoms of ADHD are no longer present. They make this claim even though upon looking at the details of the study, they cannot really use their findings to do so. This mental disorder affects approximately 6.8 percent of U.S. children ages 3 to 17, according to a recent report by the CDC.
The 33-year study began with 207 otherwise healthy middle-class white boys from New York City between 6 and 12 years old, who had been diagnosed with ADHD. Once the cohort reached an average age of 18 that is, about 9 years after the study began without a control group another 178 healthy boys without ADHD were recruited for comparison. An alarming pattern showed the average body mass index (BMI) of the men with childhood ADHD was 30.1, and roughly 41 percent were obese, twice as many than those without the condition (among those without ADHD, a BMI of 27.6 and an obesity rate of 21.6 percent was determined).
A link between ADHD and obesity has been found in previous studies and could be explained by either a neurobiological or a psychological mechanism, the authors noted. The researchers added that dysfunction in the dopamine pathways of the brain has been found in both people who are obese and those with ADHD. Psychologically, the impulsive behaviors associated with those who suffer from ADHD contribute to poor planning and difficulty in monitoring eating behaviors, leading to abnormal eating patterns and consequent obesity, the team wrote. But some researchers questioned whether this was the likely explanation, given that in the majority of the subjects studied, ADHD symptoms were no longer present.
While the data seem to suggest a link between ADHD and obesity, questions arise about its validity. ACSH s associate director of public health, Ariel Savransky, comments. First of all, 207 children constitutes a very small study. Furthermore, the BMI measurements and obesity rate in the control group seem low considering the current rates of obesity, suggesting that the control group is not representative of the greater population. But those aren t even the biggest problems. The researchers introduced a control group in the middle of the study, once the average age of the cohort was 18. That causes one to question the validity of the study. However, this is a concerning hypothesis and if a well-designed study is conducted and the same conclusions are reached, targeted methods of prevention should be investigated.
