Children born to obese pregnant women are TWICE as likely to suffer from ADHD, study finds –

A new study shows that expectant mothers who are obese have their children at a higher risk of suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Researchers at MútuaTerrassa University Hospital in Barcelona, ​​Spain, found that obese women linked to gestational diabetes or rapid weight gain in the first trimester are more likely to have a child with ADHD.

Babies born to obese mothers were twice as likely to develop ADHD. The researchers note that at their first pregnancy-related medical visit, about one-third of women were obese, and half of the women had gestational diabetes.

ADHD rates among American teens have increased in recent years. While no studies have directly linked this phenomenon to the growing obesity crisis in the country, it is possible that the two conditions are related.

“Our study found that pregnant women with obesity and gestational diabetes had children with long-term mental disorders such as ADHD,” said Veronica Perea, a researcher working at the hospital.

“We did not find this association when these women reached a healthy weight during pregnancy.”

Publishing their findings Thursday in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, the researchers collected data from 1,036 women born with gestational diabetes.

The common condition occurs when a woman has type 1 diabetes during pregnancy.

It is caused by the body’s inability to produce enough insulin while the mother is pregnant.

Women who are obese or who already had diabetes before pregnancy have a higher risk of developing this condition.

In most cases, diabetes is temporary and disappears shortly after the mother is born.

13% of infants of the study population born to mothers with diabetes were eventually diagnosed with ADHD.

They found that seven percent of babies born to underweight mothers developed ADHD before age 18, compared to 11.4 percent of those born to healthy mothers.

Those born to overweight mothers would have a 14.2% chance of developing the condition, and 16.2% of babies born to obese mothers would eventually develop the condition.

On the standard body mass index scale, they were ranked as underweight 18 or less, healthy 19 to 24, overweight 25 to 20, and obese 31 and above.

Women who were overweight in early pregnancy were at risk, while mothers whose weight increased the normal amount for their height did not see an increased risk.

Researchers are unsure of the mechanism, but urge doctors to ensure that expectant mothers know how to manage their weight during pregnancy.

“It’s important for doctors to advise their patients on the importance of maintaining a healthy weight during pregnancy,” Perea said.

ADHD rates are increasing in the United States, and although there are multiple theories as to why, there is no concrete explanation.

The number of American children suffering from the condition increased 30 percent from 2011 to 2019. Adjusted for population, their rates are much higher in the United States than in comparable countries.

Some fear it may be the result of greater distraction, causing illness in more children.

Others speculate that the high rate in the United States may be due to overmedicalization, and that some children who are more energetic in school need to be diagnosed for a condition they do not have.

Experts have linked ADHD to the unusually high rate of obesity in America, although the mechanism by which obese mothers are more likely to have children with the disease has yet to be established.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that over 40% of American adults are obese and over 70% are overweight.