ADHD In Children Being Linked To Obesity In Adults

ADHD is a problem that many children face today, but few have thought that it could lead to more serious problems down the road. These children can have a lot of difficulties concentrating, and may be very hard for parents to deal with. This is a common problem for young boys across the country, and studies are showing that it could be more serious than that later in life.

A surprising study has shown that boys who have ADHD as children are more likely to become obese as an adult. Researchers at Langone Medical Center kept track of several hundred boys for decades, and found that those who had ADHD as children had double the chance of being obese by the time they hit 41. The reasons for this are not yet clear, and more studies will shed more light on why this could be. This study only included 200 boys, and girls were not part of this study.

The study began in 1970, when children with hyperactivity were being evaluated. These men were brought back decades later to take more images of their brain in a scanner. Researchers noticed that the men who had ADHD were less likely to even fit in the scanner. That was when it was decided that they should look into the height and weight of these men over time. It was immediately noticed that those who had this hyperactivity disorder were far more likely to be obese at this age.

Other studies have pointed to this conclusion, but this one seems to confirm these results. Currently, nobody knows why ADHD is so strongly linked to obesity. One of the theories is that those who have ADHD have a harder time controlling impulses, which leads them to do things that feel good in the moment. That could eventually end up meaning that they eat things that they shouldn’t and have less control over this. They may simply not have the attention and impulse control to continue to make good choices about their eating habits as they become adults.

However, it is important to remember that this study was fairly limited in its scope. There were only a few hundred men studied, and they were all white. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the results are definitive or would be the same among a larger group of people. Also consider that only boys were studied, and that if women are eventually studied it could show some more information about how these are linked. Those who have children who are suffering from ADHD will need to try to instill them with the information that they need to make good choices about what they are eating.

The bottom line is that obesity is a serious problem, and those who have had ADHD as a child may not to put more focus on avoiding gaining weight. The best thing that they can do is to make better choices throughout their lives so that they never become obese. Eventually, more may be discovered as to why these two conditions are linked. That could give people more information about how they can help their children to stay healthy throughout their lives.