This article reviews research examining the relationship to food and hyperactivity. According to the authors, food is not the main contributor to hyperactivity. It is noted that genes, parental behavior (such as smoking), and other factors contribute just as much.
This article, frankly, confuses me. It appears to use the terms ADHD and hyperactivity interchangeably, when they are not. An individual can be hyperactive for any number of reasons, and the word describes a state the individual is in. ADHD (Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder) is a complex, multifaceted mental health diagnosis that often, but not always, features hyperactivity as one of its primary symptoms. However, even the presence of hyperactivity does not automatically lead to a diagnosis of ADHD. Again, there are multiple possibilities regarding the presence of hyperactivity, which is not a diagnosis in and of itself. The language used in the article appeared to suggest they are one and the same, as if ruling out the impact of diet for one ruled it out for both.
Of course, ADHD does appear to have a fairly strong genetic component, so my thinking on this would be that diet would, at best, be a secondary influence on the manifestation of hyperactivity for someone with ADHD. I could see diet having more of an impact (temporarily) on hyperactivity that was not the result of ADHD. But, according to this article, it does not play the prominent role that’s been long suspected. There are, of course, numerous other reasons to provide healthy, nutritious food to your kids on a regular basis, but you probably already knew that. :)
This article reviews research examining the relationship to food and hyperactivity. According to the authors, food is not the main contributor to hyperactivity. It is noted that genes, parental behavior (such as smoking), and other factors contribute just as much.
This article, frankly, confuses me. It appears to use the terms ADHD and hyperactivity interchangeably, when they are not. An individual can be hyperactive for any number of reasons, and the word describes a state the individual is in. ADHD (Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder) is a complex, multifaceted mental health diagnosis that often, but not always, features hyperactivity as one of its primary symptoms. However, even the presence of hyperactivity does not automatically lead to a diagnosis of ADHD. Again, there are multiple possibilities regarding the presence of hyperactivity, which is not a diagnosis in and of itself. The language used in the article appeared to suggest they are one and the same, as if ruling out the impact of diet for one ruled it out for both.
Of course, ADHD does appear to have a fairly strong genetic component, so my thinking on this would be that diet would, at best, be a secondary influence on the manifestation of hyperactivity for someone with ADHD. I could see diet having more of an impact (temporarily) on hyperactivity that was not the result of ADHD. But, according to this article, it does not play the prominent role that’s been long suspected. There are, of course, numerous other reasons to provide healthy, nutritious food to your kids on a regular basis, but you probably already knew that. :)