Link Between ADHD and Obesity?

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Lose Weight by Treating ADHD Symptoms | Information on Attention Deficit Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, Parenting and More

This article disucsses possible links between obesity and ADHD.

It's interesting that they don't go into the possible effects of MSG and other excitotoxins on human craving for extra calories or how hard it is to avoid MSG and other excitotoxins even when reading labels. All the studies like this act as if humans are eating the same foods they ever did. No discussion of how expensive eating all organic would be to avoid chemicals in foods either. Like there's a huge blind spot about the effects of chemicals in foods on humans.

 

[maliafee]

They've recently found a genetic basis for ADD/ADHD and the theory (as originally postulated by Thom Hartman years ago) is that ADD/ADHD is not an actual disorder but a human adaptation to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle (the attention/energy styles of a person with ADD/ADHD would be extremely effective/useful in a hunter-gatherer society) and a lack of adaptation to the more modern agricultural society.

If this is true, it would stand to reason to me that people with ADD/ADHD might lack something that allows them to handle more "modern" food like processed starches and sugar, thus making weight gain easier for them.

This is all conjecture.

 

[NewEra]

Eh, I somehow don't see a link between them.

 

[Aurora James]

I don't see any links between them. I know people with ADHD of all sizes, and I have ADD and am slightly underweight.

 

[prplchknz]

if you're treating it as adhd and adhd meds are stimulates which supress the appetite than yah you're probably gonna lose weight. it's like giving an obese person crack or meth

 

[Showbread]

Hmm. As someone with ADHD who has struggles with weight I'm not sure about this... If any connection is going to be drawn between ADHD and obesity I would place it on impulse control and pleasure/stimulus seeking. There are times when I don't remember deciding to eat something until it's already in my mouth. Also, sugar is highly addictive and impacts the brain similarly to cocaine.

I don't think I necessarily gain weight easier than the average person. But, I also don't eat nearly as much processed food as the average American.

 

[prplchknz]

Hmm. As someone with ADHD who has struggles with weight I'm not sure about this... If any connection is going to be drawn between ADHD and obesity I would place it on impulse control and pleasure/stimulus seeking. There are times when I don't remember deciding to eat something until it's already in my mouth. Also, sugar is highly addictive and impacts the brain similarly to cocaine.

I don't think I necessarily gain weight easier than the average person. But, I also don't eat nearly as much processed food as the average American.

I thought it was about treating weight lost with meds for adhd even though they're not adhd. which makes sense but a terrible idea to take adderal if you're not add/adhd trust me i have first hand experience. (not to lose weight)