More than 6 million children in America have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A new study involving the University of Missouri has now revealed a remarkable connection: adolescents with ADHD who are not taking medication not only suffer significantly more often from obesity, but also tend to exceed recommended screen time and fail to adhere to important sleep guidelines.
Crystal Lim of Mizzou, an associate professor in the College of Health Sciences, and other researchers analyzed the results of a nationally representative survey of tens of thousands of adolescents between the ages of 11 and 17. Parents of three groups – those without ADHD, those with ADHD on medication, and those with ADHD not on medication – were asked how much sleep, screen time, and exercise their children received daily.
Lim and the research team concluded that while more sleep and limiting screen time are healthy behaviors for all children, it can be particularly helpful for untreated adolescents with ADHD to prioritize these two goals, as this group has a higher prevalence of obesity.
Lim added that while commonly used stimulants for ADHD treatment, such as Adderall, may cause loss of appetite as a side effect, not all ADHD medications are stimulants, and medication is only a small part of the puzzle.
“If some families are not as interested in medication, identifying sleep as an important health behavior to improve can help reduce the risk of obesity,” Lim said. “As a clinical psychologist, I regularly meet with families and provide them with evidence-based strategies for creating long-term, healthy behavior changes, including goal setting, monitoring parental health behavior progress and role modeling.”
