Can ADHD Cause Weight Gain? | ADHD and Obesity

In this video, I talk about how ADHD and obesity are connected.

Some recent studies have shown that those of us diagnosed with ADHD 2-3 times more likely to be overweight. This may come as a surprise seeing that part of the name of our condition is hyperactivity.

What we do know is that, not only does hyperactivity tend so become more subdued with age, but some of us never really have it in the first place. There are at least half of us that tend to have ADHD inattentive subtype.

This may be why women are more likely to become obese over men, because women tend to be diagnosed with the inattentive subtype of ADHD over men, although men can just as easily be diagnosed inattentive. This is the subtype I have been since my diagnosis at the age of 8.

Other contributors can be the impulsivity that comes with ADHD. Impulsive eating habits greatly contribute to weigh gain. That, paired with lack of exercise, can lead to packing on the pounds.

We also tend to suffer from a lack of motivation, particularly for things we don't find enjoyable, such as exercise.

Fortunately there are steps we can take to fight off weight gain. They are the usual things like changing your diet to healthier food options. A low carb or no carb diet is not only healthy, but has shown to help improve cognitive function in those of us with ADHD.

We should also be exercising every day. 20-30 minutes of intense cardio each day can not only do wonders for your health and help burn fat, but it can also help ease ADHD symptoms and give us a hit of dopamine that our brains so desperately crave.

Check out the video to see all the ways having ADHD can contribute to becoming obese.

Is Your ADHD Brain Hard-Wired for Weight Gain? https://www.additudemag.com/ad....hd-and-obesity-hard-

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Obesity: Update 2016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p....mc/articles/PMC52475

Dreams by Joakim Karud https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/VF9_dCo6JT4