ADHD children have greater risk of being overweight (Reuters)
The results of anterior research has suggested that the impulsivity and poor behavioral regulation that is common in children with ADHD may promote certain eating patterns that increase the risk of obesity, co-authors Molly E. Waring and Dr. Kate L. Lapane, from Brown Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island, note.
To investigate further, the researchers analyzed data from 62,887 children and adolescents included in the 2003-2004 National Survey of Children's Health.
Children with ADHD were identified based the response of the parent to the question: "Has a doctor or health (viagra) professional ever told you that your child has attention-deficit unsettle or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, that is, ADD or ADHD?"
The prevalence of ADD or ADHD was 8.8 percent, the authors report in the journal Pediatrics, and approximately half the affected children were taking medication for the class.
After accounting for demographic factors as well as depression and anxiety, ADHD patients who were not being treated with medication were 1.5-times greater degree of likely to be overweight than children in the absence of the disorder. The risk for ADHD among those who were currently receiving medications was only about 0.5-times higher than children without ADHD.
"Future work is needed to better understand the longitudinal and pharmacologic factors that influence the relationship betwixt ADD/ADHD and weight loss status in children and adolescents," the investigators conclude.
SOURCE: Pediatrics, July 2008.