ADHD in childhood may be linked to obesity in adults

[socialsecurityisAAA]

Source: United Press International

U.S. men who had attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder as children weighed 19 pounds more at age 41 than those with no ADHD, researchers say.

Study co-author F. Xavier Castellanos, a psychiatrist at the Child Study Center at New York University Langone Medical Center in New York, and colleagues at Verona University in Italy; the Institute for Psychiatric Research in Orangeburg, N.Y.; and the Neuroingenia Clinical and Research Center in Mexico said ADHD might affect up to 11 percent of U.S. children, the majority boys.

The study involved 207 white boys with childhood ADHD -- mean age of 8.3 -- interviewed at ages 18-25 and age 41. At age 18, 178 boys without ADHD were recruited.

At 41, 111 men with childhood ADHD and 111 men without childhood ADHD self-reported their weight and height.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2013/05/20/ADHD-in-childhood-may-be-linked-to-obesity-in-adults/UPI-34151369093137/#ixzz2TsyE6AMi


Read more: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2013/05/20/ADHD-in-childhood-may-be-linked-to-obesity-in-adults/UPI-34151369093137/

---

This article and study offer a one sided evaluation of the facts. Medications taken for Adhd which include Ritalin, Dexedrine, desoxyn, and other Substituted phenethylamines cause a cascade of hormone reactions in the body which overload the adrenals and lead to chronically elevated cortisol levels. Chronically elevated cortisol levels are known to cause numerous health problems such as high blood pressure, water retention, elevated glucose which can eventuality lead to full blown diabetes. Elevated cortisol levels can also make common stimuli the source of chronic anxiety.
I have never been in favor of medicating young children with strong stimulants, and I see it no different than giving a child cocaine or methamphetamine as an alternative to attending to the child in a responsible manner. I understand that parents are overworked and underpaid and this can make it difficult to supervise and structure our child's life as much as we would like to. Still there must be a better alternative than sympathomimetic drugging which zombifies our children.

[Ford_Prefect]

1. The children for whom the drugs work are far from zombies. Some do need other kinds of answers.

For some children, and adults, the drugs available help to a degree. Some people have found combinations of drugs are helpful. There are also many for whom this is not a useful answer, just as with other medications and other conditions.

Drugs alone are not and never were thought to be the only or best answer for everyone. Although there are those who administer schools and health systems who will insist that everyone is actually only entitled to one solution to any problem. These minds also seem to see children like cattle to be herded, rather than as people with ideas, imaginations, doubts and questions.

That said we are indeed a long way from the perfect balance between function and excess in medical application for ADHD. Each person is a unique and complex genetic assembly which makes the issues of accurate ADHD diagnosis and medication more complicated than for instance a general diagnosis of depression. ADHD is often found along with other conditions which can make a single drug or common therapy almost impossible. More often an integrated approach is called for. ADHD can also interfere with accurate perception and reaction to a degree that good common sense parenting and support alone cannot cope with.

ADHD is also too often seen as a personality disorder rather than a physical condition in which the nervous system is operating without all the needed chemistry. In some ways it is like having an allergy: when you can add the right chemistry the condition is manageable but never really gone, it can interfere with nearly everything you do in ways not easily managed, and you will have to cope with whatever it does to you all your life. It can also make you appear less functional and more vulnerable than you necessarily are.

When you are dealing with conditions which are essentially invisible like ADHD or Learning Disabilities behavioral clues which "seem" obvious to others are too frequently misleading as to cause. I was told more often that I care to remember to "straighten up", "deal with it", "act my age", and many other less salubrious instructions in an effort to get me to focus on my "problems". What is often not seen as the real difficulty is that you are overwhelmed by what is going on around you and cannot process it effectively or efficiently enough, and that you lack more than the proper attitude: you are actually missing some of the tools needed for the job. Sometimes it seems as if you are always one step behind the information or instructions so your actions and decisions are out of sync with events and emotions.

There is also the question of how many types of ADHD exist as a useful diagnosis. It used to be we were classified by whether we sat still or ran around the walls leaving dents.

[socialsecurityisAAA]

3. The children who are drugged deserve attention, not institutional drugging.

Contrary to the meme spread, these drugs do not work differently in people with ADHD than they do in someone without the diagnosis. The major side effect of these drugs is insomnia and appetite suppression in young. These side effects contradict the repeated falsehood that these drugs function to sedate or calm children with ADHD. They put people in a state of shock, fight or flight biochemically. They overload the system with stress chemicals resulting in a zombified drugged child. Some doctors are completely arguing the existence of Adhd and believe the psychiatric field is in error labeling normal childhood energy as abnormal. Others believe it has more to do with the lobbying efforts and power of the pharmaceutical industry.
These drugs are stimulants, some more addictive and unhealthy than cocaine.

[upaloopa]

5. What discipline is your medical degree in?

You seem to be an expert. I'm wondering how you got your expertise, training, or private practice or what? How many years have you been practicing medicine?

Or do you just read shit that supports your prejudices and post them here?

[Ford_Prefect]

6. Your logic assumes a complete lack of responsible medical judgement on the part of ALL those who

practice and prescribe for adults and children diagnosed with ADHD.

I must ask you sir, do you yourself treat or interact with any of these children? Have you read any of the NIMH studies of this condition either in children or adults? Are you familiar at all with the recent brain scan studies of brain structure differences and the effects of various drugs on their function?

Some of your argument resembles that from a few tracts the Church of Scientology likes to promote. If they do not indeed influence your reference reading I would like to suggest you read the latest from some well regarded experts on the subject of ADHD. Their information might enlighten your views of CNS function and integration. A User's Guide to the Brain by John J. Ratey, MD, would be a good place to start.

ADHD is real. There has been and remains significant debate about treatment and the dimensions of the condition, as has been the case for some time. That there is need for such treatment, and sympathetic support for those with the condition is not in doubt. Yes, the children you propose to protect and nurture need meaningful and thorough-going help, not a drug fix to relieve guilt-ridden adults. The point you miss is that some of the drugs do work effectively and reasonably well for some of the children, and by the way many adults with the condition.

We are indeed a long way from targeted ADHD medicines and the side effects for some of the drugs in use are certainly to be considered when treatment and application are decided. I don't love the extra sweating my meds induce but I sure get a lot more done when I can use them. Sometimes that is enough, sometimes it isn't. I'd rather have the choice than allow someone as ignorant as you appear to be slam the door on effective treatment options.

[socialsecurityisAAA]

8. It assumes nothing. ADHD pharmaceutical treatment is based on unfounded assumptions.

ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, unlike schizophrenia is subjectively diagnosed often based on the testimony of teachers or parents. Often you can perform scans on those displaying schizophrenic tendencies and find concrete abnormalities within brain regions. The same can't be said for ADHD. In the majority of cases diagnosed as ADHD neurotransmitter testing will reveal little difference between those labelled ADHD and those considered healthy. When there are significant differences they are often indicative of existing manic depressive disorder and coincide with symptoms of this disorder, which is not treated with psychostimulants, quite to the contrary psychostimulants will aggravate such a disorder.
There is absolutely no concrete evidence that ADHD exists, if you can find it please do post it. As I said its a theory, as is the method of treatment. No one claims to understand how the drugs work with certainty, neither does anyone claim to know exactly what ADHD is on a biochemical level.
Yes I work with children on a daily basis and am familiar with the research that has been done into pediatric as well as adult neurochemistry, psychology and pharmacology.
There are thousands of doctors in the United States alone who will refuse to write a prescription for a stimulant. Many DO's will simply refer the children to a psychologist, not a psychiatrist, to investigate whether there is evidence of trauma or abuse in the child's history. Many DO's will also order diagnostic tests to determine if there might be thyroid abnormalities, heavy metal toxicity, vitamin deficiencies, hormonal irregularities etc.
I find your comparison to Scientology to be a leap. I have never claimed there is no such thing as mental illness , I simply argue there is a complete lack of objective evidence for the existence of ADHD as well as virtually no understanding or explanation offered for how such blunt effect drugs are supposed to work for adhd.
Something else I feel inclined to mention is that many children who are sent to a psychologist instead of a psychiatrist have been found to have been victims of trauma or abuse. What if instead those children had simply been put on a drug? The trauma and/or abuse may never have been identified. Psychological intervention is often able to help those victims of trauma and/or abuse live full normal lives.

[Zoeisright]

7. Oh bullshit.

My husband has ADHD. WITHOUT his meds he is unable to concentrate. WTF do you know about this topic? Unless you're an ADHD expert with a PhD or a researcher, you are completely without credibility.

[Douglas Carpenter]

13. of course you are right. There was a pyscho-pop anti-scientific fad

especially until the 80's and 90's when more was learned about the biological, neurological and genetic side to a number of disorders. More hugs and attention may help any illness but it is not going to affectively treat ADHD anymore than it's going to treat diabetes. Now that science has revealed that psycho/neuro/genetic issues are a much bigger part of the equation than was once assumed - the ability to affectively treat illnesses with medication is simply a lot more advanced than it once was. Some people seem to think that if medication doesn't work for everyone or if the medication are not always managed properly then they must never be used. It's sure nonsense.

[socialsecurityisAAA]

14. True, but not so with Adhd. I explain in my response above there is no

objective evidence proving its existence. I also explain that many cases diagnosed as Adhd turned out to be something different altogether.
Its interesting that you mention diabetes which has been shown to be reversible(type2) if lifestyle interventions are adhered to rigorously allowing people to live prescription free healthy lives. The same has been shown for high BP, high cholesterol, some cases of arthritis, and obviously obesity.

[marions ghost]

18. My family is full of ADHD

of all the various types. Not all involves hyperactivity.

Nobody in my family takes meds for it. All have adapted to the condition as adults. There is a lot more to treatment than just medicating. Meds may have a place temporarily but should not be a permanent solution. In my opinion.

Just saying.

[Drale]

26. People who do not deal with ADHD don't really understand

I got in a fight with a guy in a class once who claimed that ADHD does not exist. I can assure everyone that ADHD is very real and without my meds I do not have the concentration to succeed in college. I am far from a Zombie.

[Sunlei]

2. poorer diet? "Children with Medicaid were more likely than uninsured children or privately insured

"Children with Medicaid were more likely than uninsured children or privately insured children to have each of the diagnoses."

not very many studies but to me it seems like the drug corps really like that federal payment for treatment drugs. Worse also for all these medicated kids and medicated kids in fostercare..they turn 18 and they are dumped from the system.

link http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/data.html

[socialsecurityisAAA]

12. What you state is certainly part of the problem. Profits over people:(

[freshwest]

4. Thom Hartmann's ideas may be useful:

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

Hartmann has authored in the area of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and adult attention-deficit disorder (AADD) and is the creator (first proposed by him in 1978, first published nationally in 1992) of the now well-known hunter vs. farmer theory that ADD is an expected evolutionary adaptation to hunting lifestyles. These individuals have the ability of rapidly shifting their focus and external attention and of holding multiple trains of thought.

This ability causes difficulties when they must live and work in cultures in which "farming" – well-planned, predictable, organized and repetitive behaviors – is typical. His first book on the disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder: a Different Perception was described by Scientific American as "innovative and fresh".[28]

Hartmann has established specialized schools[quantify] for children with ADHD, such as The Hunter School in Rumney, New Hampshire,[29] which he co-founded with his wife Louise.

He also operated the "ADD Forum" and "DeskTop Publishing Forum", along with several others, on CompuServe.[30]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thom_Hartmann#Attention-deficit_hyperactivity_disorder

Makes sense to me.

[marions ghost]

19. Hartmann

has a lot of interesting things to say about ADD. For starters, it's not always a bad thing.

And the world is more and more ADD--look at the way TV programming flits around so much it makes your head spin. If we weren't ADD before, we are becoming so as a culture.

[DeSwiss]

9. It's the goddamned poison food, water and plastic!

You ARE what you eat!

[socialsecurityisAAA]

10. Great point. Many of those "poisons" are toxic hormonal disruptors.

Disrupting hormones in children affects their very nature. The brain is forming in a child and the correct formation can be disrupted by these chemical additives in our food supply!

[DeSwiss]

11. Indeed....

[marions ghost]

27. good video thanks

"80 to 100 thousand chemicals we are exposed to, only 2 % tested." ....

[gopiscrap]

30. Welcome to DU

[cprise]

15. Sugar n/t

[DeSwiss]

22. Agreed, along with HFCS.

- In addition, we will NEVER solve the problems associated with this condition which is the result of the ingestion of toxins (created by science for our supposed benefit), by giving the victims more toxins supposedly to cure us from the first set of diseases they've already given us.

MEDICATIONS

A combination of medication and behavioral treatment works best. There are several different types of ADHD medications that may be used alone or in combination.

Psychostimulants (also known as stimulants) are the most commonly used ADHD drugs. Although these drugs are called stimulants, they actually have a calming effect on people with ADHD.

These drugs include:

Amphetamine-dextroamphetamine (Adderall)
Dexmethylphenidate (Focalin)
Dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine - Dextrostat)
Lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse)
Methylphenidate (Ritalin - Concerta - Metadate - Daytrana)

link

[cprise]

23. You can say they were "created by science"

but its more accurate to say they were created by a pseudo-scientific movement within capitalism. *Anyone* who sells so-called science that rejects ecology is pushing pseudo-science.

Science is the best method we have of detecting and stopping reckless exploitation.

[DeSwiss]

24. As long as capitalism owns science, its' our worse enemy. n/t

[cprise]

25. Even academics??

What gives you the credibility to criticize industry...?

Intuition? Psychic powers? "Us-vs-them" sentiment?

You have *nothing* in these health/environment topics without the data, rigorous thinking and research to back them up. Nada. Zip!

Worse than zip... you get an autism-vaccination style controversy that is now cited whenever someone wants to discredit the left (its used often by global warming deniers).

You especially undermine your cause (and mine) when you post messages full of scientific data to prove your point, and then spew anti-science sentiment in the next breath.

[KurtNYC]

17. the study looked only at "white" and only males

then it "recruits" (?) controls at age 18 rather than comparing to the general population or going double blind. What kind of science looks only at white males ?

[Ford_Prefect]

20. The study seems to reflect historical bias that ADHD is not often found in Girls or women.

It seems to reflect rather limited thinking on ADHD and development, although it may also be limited in order to achieve the research goals proving a link.

[marions ghost]

28. ADHD

is often found in girls, but it has some different characteristics. Hyperactivity might not be noticeable but the lack of focus is still there. Girls can seem foggy or distracted. Actually they are not as out to lunch as they seem, but since they don't make decisions or prioritize well, are often considered slow.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

21. That's because early on when these adults were kids ADHD was thought to be most prevalent

among white kids. Since those were the only ones diagnosed with ADHD, those subjects were the only ones they could study.

However, we now know ADHD affects females and people of all races.

As an example, I am female and I was diagnosed with ADHD at age 40. I take Concerta daily (Concerta is an extended release formulation of methylphenidate - Ritalin). I can positively state that the difference in me with and without Concerta is like night and day. I am not a zombie and my abilities are the same, but I can now concentrate better and pace myself better.

[Ford_Prefect]

31. Piss poor research technique in any case to apply such obvious and dated bias in defining the

range of the topic area and possible subjects. The perspective seems 20 years out of in many ways. One must ask who was paying for it and who actually was intended to benefit from the results.

This would nearly have been laughed out of the last conference I attended on AHDH. It would not be the first time a study was done to prove old biases were "true", with the disguised agenda of turning back the clock on understanding ADHD.

[gopiscrap]

29. Interesting because my mom and dad were crack skinny and so was I but:

I was so adhd it was pathetic. I couldn't even sit down to watch a 9 minute stretch of cartoon when I was a kid. Now I am just old, slow and fat so no more adhd (or IU should say, not as pronounced)