New research reveals that girls diagnosed with ADHD face high risks of becoming obese in adulthood.

Few years ago study revealed that individuals with ADHD history were likely to develop psychological problems that might increase obesity risk. According to a new study, it was discovered that girls diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hiperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are prone to becoming obese.

Scientists claim that obesity rate has expanded in the last three decades both in adults and children. Moreover, they revealed a connection between ADHD and women. Moreover, sleep disorders in children suffering from ADHD may be a cause to gain excessive weight due to both hormonal and behavioral influences.

Researchers say that ADHD medication in childhood has nothing to do with with adulthood obesity. Dr. Kumar from Mayo Clinic Children’s Research, Rochester, said:

”We can’t say that these drugs are perfectly safe overall, but there appears to be no need to worry in terms of their impact on adult obesity”.

The research lasted from 1976 to 2010. It involved 336 boys and girls with ADHD as well as a control group of 665 children who weren’t diagnosed with ADHD. Experts found that female patients who had ADHD in childhood presented twice the risk of becoming obese in adulthood than those who hadn’t.

In August 2010 they found that most of the women with ADHD in childhood were obese after the age of 20. However, there were various differences between male and female reactions. The main ADHD symptom in boys is excessive hiperactivity, while girls experience frequent distractions and depression.

Dr. Seema Kumar observed that obesity and ADHD share various biological mechanisms. These mechanism might play an elementary part in the girls with ADHD due to the fact that they seem to have a continuous crave for food.  Also, she noticed that ADHD boys are hyperactive and they burn more calories than girls. Accordin to medical statistics 8 to 16 percent of children suffer from ADHD.

The disorder causes difficulties in being focused as well as attention issues. Most of them become overactive and are unable to control their behavior. Even if girls with ADHD face high risks of becoming obese in their adulthood, this disorders affects boys as well that’s why researchers think that they should be closely monitored.

Moreover, they should develop school programs which would help students with ADHD to control their disease. The study was published in February issue of the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
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