Obese Men Likely Hyperactive During Childhood!

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood disorders for kids aged between 3 and 17. It can sometimes continue through adolescence and adulthood. The average age of onset is 7 years old.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States revealed that nearly 7 percent of children and teenagers have been diagnosed with ADHD and boys are more than twice as likely to have such disorder as girls are.

Obese men are likely hyperactive during their childhood, according to a recent study. Researchers from New York University found that boys who were diagnosed with ADHD in elementary school were more likely to grow up to be obese adults than those who do not have the condition.

Their findings, which were published on May 20, 2013 in ‘Pediatrics’, indicated that participants with a history of ADHD were 8.6 kilos heavier than those without ADHD after surveying 2 groups of 41-year-old men.

Data was drawn from 207 white boys with ADHD at around 8 years old. They were followed as they grew up. Another group of teenage boys without ADHD were added to the study10 years later. These boys were similar to the original participants.

At the age of 41, 111 men from each group were still in the study and were asked to report their weight. It was found that men with a history of ADHD weighed 96.6 kilos on average and 41.4 percent of them were obese. In comparison, men without ADHD weighed 88 kilos on average and 21.6 percent of them were obese.

Some of the common symptoms of ADHD, such as lack of impulse control, difficulty paying attention and poor planning skills, can lead to unhealthy food choices and irregular eating patterns that continue into adulthood. These behaviors could be responsible for the weigh gain.

While the findings were based on male participants, the researchers suspected that the results could well hold true for women.

It is hoped that the new findings will prompt parents to help their children, especially boys, develop healthy eating habits, and they should pay special attention to the change in weight over time.

Being a global health concern, obesity is the culprit for many chronic diseases including Type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.