A new study conducted at the Mayo Clinic’s Children’s Research Center has discovered that girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are twice as likely to be obese throughout childhood and adulthood than those who do not have the condition. Lead researcher Dr. Seema Kumar stated in a 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.”
The long-term study examined weight gain in girls and boys who had been diagnosed with ADHD as children. Researchers found that the risk for obesity in girls remained, regardless of whether they received stimulant treatment for ADHD.
Previous studies had shown that ADHD manifests differently in girls than in boys, and is often either misdiagnosed, or not diagnosed at all. However, 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,” according to the press release.
The study included 336 individuals born with childhood ADHD between 1976 and 1982. These participants were matched wtih 665 non-ADHD control subjects of the same sex and age. Height, weight and stimulant treatment measures were gathered from medical records detailing the care each individual received from Jan. 1, 1976, through Aug. 31, 2010.
Childhood and adult obesity has increased significantly during the past three decades. Dr. Kumar said there is a need for greater awareness regarding the relationship between obesity in females and ADHD, among patients, health care providers and caregivers. ADHD in boys is typically characterized by hyperactivity. In girls the disorder may be marked by being easily distracted, and symptoms of depression, so can be easy to miss.
The study encourages all ADHD patients to engage in preventative measures, specifically active lifestyles and healthy eating, as part of their lifelong routine to prevent obesity. Kumar also said that doctors need to be more sensitive to the differences between girls and boys.
ADHD is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health as a childhood disorder in which individuals are prevented by hyperactivity from being able to pay attention or focus on certain tasks, or control their own behavior. Such behavior will continue through adolescence and even into adulthood if not properly addressed.
The study is featured in the Feb. 4 issue of the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.