Experts found out recently that female obesity risk and childhood ADHD are knit together. More precisely, the study shows that having ADHD during childhood doubles the risk of obesity among females.

Over the past three decades, the incidence of obesity has increased significantly. The disease has reached epidemic proportions globally, with at least 2.8 million people dying each year as a result of being overweight or obese. Did you know that more people in the world are suffering from obesity than from hunger?

A new research brings light to this global concern, as it proves that there is an association between obesity development during adulthood and childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Mayo Clinic researchers led the multi-site study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Although various studies found a connection between childhood ADHD and obesity,

This is the first population-based longitudinal study to examine the association between ADHD and development of obesity using ADHD cases and controls of both sexes derived from the same birth cohort.

says lead author Seema Kumar, pediatrician and researcher at Mayo Clinic Children’s Research Center.

We know for a fact that the study included 336 individuals with childhood ADHD born from 1976 to 1982 and matched with 665 non-ADHD controls of the same age and sex. Details like weight, height and stimulant treatment measurements were gathered from medical records detailing care provided from Jan. 1, 1976, through Aug. 31, 2010. In order to assess the link between ADHD and obesity, the researchers used Cox models.

The conclusion of this complex study is the fact that, compared to females without ADHD, females with childhood ADHD were at a two-fold greater risk of developing childhood and adulthood obesity.

In addition to that, Dr. Kumar states in a recent press release that

Females with ADHD are at risk of developing obesity during adulthood, and stimulant medications used to treat ADHD do not appear to alter that risk.

Here is also a brief presentation of the study, recently published by Mayo Proceedings:

A different study, developed in 2015, showed stark differences in the rate of diagnosis between the sexes, and another in 2012 said the difference in severity of symptoms between boys and girls at different ages could be vastly different. In boys, ADHD is often characterized more by hyperactivity, while in girls it is often marked by being easily distracted and issues with depression, and so can often be missed.

So, what is the experts’ advice? They encourage all patients with ADHD to engage in preventive measures, specifically healthy eating and an active lifestyle, as part of routine care to prevent obesity.

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