A study conducted by the University of Virginia found that adolescent girls with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder have a higher risk of developing body-image issues that can lead to binging and purging than their non-ADHD peers. Of the 228 girls who were evaluated, 140 had been diagnosed with ADHD, and 88 had not.

"Girls with ADHD may be more at risk of developing eating problems as adolescents because they already have impulsive behaviors that can set them apart from their peers,' [lead author Amori Yee] Mikami said. 'As they get older, their impulsivity may make it difficult for them to maintain healthy eating and a healthy weight, resulting in self-consciousness about their body image and the binging and purging symptoms.'"

Girls with the "combined type" of ADHD (having both inattention and hyperactivity) were most likely to develop bulimia nervosa symptoms. They were also more likely to be overweight, to have experienced harsh or critical parenting, and to have been rejected by their peers. Source: ScienceDaily

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Labels: eating_disorders, girls_with_adhd, body_image_issues

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

A study of 13,000 British children found that children with autism tend to be picky eaters suffer from allergies. However, they are about the same height and weight as children without the disorder.

• Parents of autistic children as young as six months old told researchers that their children to longer to eat and refused more new foods.
• By the time the children with autism were ages four and five years old, 37% of their parents told researchers that they were very choosy eaters -- compared to only 14% of parents of children without the disorder.

"Although children with autism spectrum disorders are more difficult to feed and they eat less variety of food, this is not affecting the nutrients of their diet, their height, weight or BMIs," said Dr. Pauline Emmett of the University of Bristol.  "There doesn't seem to be any major cause for concern."

The study appears in the journal Pediatrics.
 

Labels: autism, eating_disorders

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments