It should come as no surprise
that the obesity epidemic is not restricted to the adult population. Whilst
reports on adult obesity have tended to focus on endocrinology, inappropriate
diets and obstacles to exercise, reports on childhood obesity have sought to
explore whether socioeconomic status and neurological processes could account
for the development of obesity. Here we consider the most recent study in this
field, which explored the potential relationship between body weight and ADHD.
The study, which was published in PlosOne, assessed 284 children with
ADHD between the ages of six to twelve. It came as an extension of a previous
study, which had conducted less thorough neurocognitive assessments of children
with ADHD. The initial study, which was not done by the same team, had
concluded that both ADHD and obesity could be due to impaired self-regulatory
processes. However, as this study had used crude measures on a limited sample,
and even tested the children who were currently taking ADHD medications, there
was limited support for the findings.
In an attempt to address all of
those limitations, the researchers of the current study ensured that all the
participants had not taken their medications for at least a week before taking
part. They then assessed them using a battery of tests, which included a more
realistic reflection of typical neurocognitive characteristics, motivational
styles and motor profiles that could be useful to explain the findings. In
addition to that, the data was adjusted for demographic characteristics, so as
to account for environmental influences. The key findings indicated that there
was little evidence for the relationship between neurocognitive deficits and
obesity, but that socioeconomic status was a useful predictor for obesity. This
led the researchers to argue that the effects of socioeconomic status, such as
not having access to exercise or a regular healthy diet, were better predictors
than self-regulatory processes.
It is not hard to understand the
rationale behind this study as it comes within a context of reports of patients
with eating disorders having attention difficulties that were analogous to
ADHD. Clinically, there have also been some neuroimaging studies that have
suggested that patients with ADHD exhibit the dopamine dysregulation that can
be seen in individuals with food addiction.
However, it is worth mentioning
that the food addiction model is questionable at this stage, and that the
comparison between clinical disorders is far too superficial. ADHD, obesity and
eating disorders are complex multifaceted phenomena that are not yet fully
understood. Consequently, for this line of reasoning to be considered, more
extensive large-scale studies need to be put in place.
Having said that, there are still
aspects of the current study that should not be ignored. Understanding how
lower socioeconomic status affects the development of obesity is crucial as
there may be a way to address these risk factors socially. Therefore, this
study may be a cause for optimism in the battle against childhood obesity.