Adults With Adhd and Obesity?
Question by goddessvixen7: adults with adhd and obesity?
I was reading online that there is a link to obesity and AdHd and I was wondering if anyone has experience an increase in their weight well off of medication. And did the medication help your self control.
Also does anyone know what the common medical for adhd that are cover by blue cross blue shield of iowa excluding Straterra.
Best answer:
Answer by Don Zorro
obesity affects every system in the body including the brain. I can think of Concerta, they are a new thing. doctors do not like the old amphetamines and more, well some do. Body fat increases cortisone and other bad hormones and blood pressure, puts a strain of all the organs. Inflammation of the body tissues occurs, something people don’t know.
Answer by Gary
There is a very strong link between obesity and adult ADHD. ADHD is now known to be much more prevalent among the obese than among the general population. This is particularly unfortunate where adult ADHD remains undiagnosed and untreated.
A 2002 study published by psychiatrist Jules R Altfas (Behavioral Medical Center, Portland, Oregon, US) concluded:
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“The apparent association of OB+ADHD, relatively poor obesity treatment outcome and high prevalence of OB+ADHD (27.4%), especially in the extremely obese (42.6%), argue that comorbid ADHD increases the health risks of obesity, and that extreme obesity, itself a stressful condition, adds burden to the profound impairments common in ADHD. The chance that more knowledge could lead to reduction of suffering, disability and economic cost offers compelling reasons for further investigation of this subject. Inclusion of more diverse and non-clinical populations of obese and extremely obese individuals, and using research designs that better account for rater and subject biases, inter-rater reliability, and diagnostic methodology, will likely give more definitive answers to this report’s questions and implications.”
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In 2009, a population-based study was published that reinforces this:
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Association Between Adult Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Obesity in the US Population
(Sherry L. Pagoto, Carol Curtin, Stephenie C. Lemon, Linda G. Bandini, Kristin L. Schneider, Jamie S. Bodenlos and Yunsheng Ma)
Published in Obesity (Mar 2009, Vol 17, No 3)
“This is the first population-based study to examine the association between ADHD and obesity in adults. Results revealed that having adult ADHD increased the odds of being overweight and obese. Among individuals with adult ADHD, 33.9% were overweight and 29.4% were obese, compared to 28.8 and 21.6% respectively, of individuals with no history of ADHD.”
“Results suggest that ADHD is linked to both obesity and BED in the US adult population. The presence of ADHD in overweight and obese patients has clinical implications, including difficulty with behavioral weight management skills such as self-monitoring, meal planning, and adhering to nutrition and physical activity goals. Given that BED mediated the association between ADHD and obesity, dysregulated eating patterns among adults with obesity and ADHD should be studied further.”
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Dr. John Fleming and Dr. Lance Levy have also contributed significantly to the understanding of the link between obesity and ADHD:
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Then her doctor made an astonishing discovery – one that is revolutionizing the way morbidly obese people are treated, and viewed by society.
He diagnosed her with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, a neuro-developmental irregularity that causes people to behave impulsively and seek constant stimulation. They nibble to counter feelings of restlessness, explains her physician, Lance Levy, a Toronto specialist in nutritional medicine.
“ADHD is a primary cause of failing to lose weight for tens of thousands of people,” said Dr. Levy, who is with the Nutritional and Eating Disorders Clinic. “Obese people are three to five times more likely to have it than the regular population. And if you treat them, you will see a significant weight loss.”Dr. Levy and his co-authors – psychologist John Fleming and dietitian Doreen Klar – have just published their groundbreaking research in the International Journal of Obesity, a peer-reviewed scholarly journal.
Their study of 242 obese patients found that 32 per cent had ADHD, compared with 4 to 7 per cent in the general population. When treated for ADHD, the patients were able to lose 12 per cent of their body weight within 14 months. These patients, who were given psycho-stimulants to increase the dopamine in their brains, had tried and failed to lose weight for at least a decade.
Obese people with ADHD cannot respond to the signals in their brains that tell them when they are hungry and when they are full. “Their stomachs stretch and they can tolerate a degree of fullness that would make the average person throw up,” Dr. Levy said.
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Personally, I have found medication to be of great help with impulse control in general and with food cravings in particular. Yes, when I started on meds there was a decreased appetite but that initial effect faded quickly – within 2-3 weeks. I now understand why stimulants are not generally prescribed for weight loss.
I don’t have fewer cravings today. But such cravings no longer control my life – I am no longer a slave to those impulses. What treatment of my ADHD has given me is a much improved ability to both recognize cravings and consciously control impulsive eating (along with other impulsive behaviors that were also undesirable). This was simply not possible prior to treatment of my ADHD.
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