Diagnosing ADHD In Children

While diagnosing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children, you must ensure that:

• The child is exhibiting symptoms of ADHD continuously for at least 6 months.
• The child has been exhibiting these symptoms before the age of seven.
• The child has been exhibiting these symptoms in at least two different settings, for instance home and in school.
• The symptoms are not attributed to a difficult phase in the life of the child or a developmental disorder.

For an accurate diagnosis of ADHD in your child, it is imperative to meet a mental health professional to ensure that the symptoms exhibited by the child are not due to the following reasons:

• Learning disability, wherein a child faces difficulty in reading, writing, and language and motor skills.
• A traumatic life experience such as a separation of the parents, death, or a move from one place to the other.
• Certain behavioral disorders such as oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder might also cause ADHD-like symptoms.
• Some medical conditions such as epilepsy, sleep disorders, and thyroid problems can also affect the mental health of the child.

What is Obesity?

Obesity is a medical condition wherein a person gains excess body fat which can have a negative effect on the overall well-being of an individual. Typically, if a person’s weight is about 20% higher than the ideal body weight, then the person is considered to be obese. In the United States, about one in every five children are obese and this trend is on an increase. In 1980, 7% of the children between the ages 6 and 11 were obese. However, in 2012, almost 18% of children in the same age group were obese.

A study conducted by Waring and Lapane found that children who were suffering from ADHD who did not take medications were 1.5 times more likely to become obese. The study was conducted on a sample population of 5680 children who were suffering from ADHD. The study found that only 57.2% of the children comprising the sample population were taking medications to improve the symptoms of their condition. This can be attributed to the fact that the stimulants administered as medication for ADHD act by increasing the dopamine levels in the brain. This, in turn, reduces the symptoms of ADHD.

See Also: Does Easy Distraction Mean ADHD?

This is one of the primary reasons for obesity in children who suffer from ADHD.

It is generally believed that children who live by impulse tend to eat by impulse. Due to ADHD, they face difficulty not only in understanding what others are telling them but are also not able to interpret what their bodies are telling them. Therefore, whenever they are upset or bored, they misinterpret the feeling and think that it is hunger.