ADHD more likely if mom was overweight

ADHD link to mom’s weight

A new study suggests that school-age children are much more likely to display ADHD symptoms if their mother was overweight at the time she became pregnant. Of 12,500 children included in the study, carried out at Sweden’s Uppsala University, one in 10 showed signs of hyperactivity and had problems in concentrating once they started at school. These symptoms showed up in the children of women who were only moderately overweight, as well as those of obese women – and piling on even more pounds during pregnancy raised the risk even more.

“Many children are being diagnosed with ADHD and at the same time there is an epidemic of obesity in the world, with more and more women already overweight at the time they become pregnant,” said lead author of the study, Alina Rodriguez, who hopes the research might be of use in obesity prevention. “If it turns out that the mother’s weight is of significance and, together with other factors, it can influence ADHD-like symptoms in a child, we have not only found a contributory cause but also a potential avenue for preventive work that can enhance the well-being of both mother and child.”

Why the obesity link? The likelihood of complications in pregnancy is greater for overweight women, which raises stress – known to affect unborn babies. It’s thought a developing baby may also be affected by hormones and environmental toxins stored in their mother’s body fat.

 

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