Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder been linked to obesity

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder is likely found in people who are obese

An article in GlobeAndMail.com says:

The study of 242 obese patients found that 32 per cent had ADHD, compared with 4 to 7 per cent in the general population. When treated for ADHD, the patients were able to lose 12 per cent of their body weight within 14 months. These patients, who were given psycho-stimulants to increase the dopamine in their brains, had tried and failed to lose weight for at least a decade.

Obese people with ADHD cannot respond to the signals in their brains that tell them when they are hungry and when they are full.

Someone who weighs 420 pounds has to eat about 3,200 calories a day just to maintain that weight. They often suffer from other health issues, including depression, sleep disorders, chronic pain and gastrointestinal problems.

This type of ADHD can be treated by gradually loosing weight, stressing lifestyle and some dietary changes

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New Cause For Alarm Against Ritalin

In our blog, we always try to give you the most natural means possible to help treat the condition and today, we have another reason why. Recently, it was suggested that the ADHD drug called Ritalin may actually change a person's brain similar to cocaine and may also cause addiction.

The physical brain changes noted by researchers were found in mice, not humans, and occurred in brain neurons in reward regions of mouse brains. In some cases, the researchers found that these effects overlapped with those of cocaine.

Both methylphenidate and cocaine are in the class of drugs known as psychostimulants.

“Further studies are needed to determine the behavioral implications of these changes and to understand the mechanisms by which these drugs affect synapse formation.”

Previous studies have shown that children treated with stimulants for ADHD early in life have no greater risk of drug addiction as adults.