Eating behaviors and growth status in children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To discuss the correlation between growth status and eating behaviors in children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), providing reference data for management and dietary behavior guidance among ADHD children.@*Methods@#A total of 703 children aged 4-13 years old were collected from the ADHD patients from Children s Health Department of Children s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from June to September, 2019. The demographic characteristics and information regarding children’s eating behaviors were collected by self-designed questionnaire and Chinese version of the parent-completed Children’s Eating Behavior Questionnaire(CEBQ). The correlation physical growth with dietary behaviors among the ADHD children were analyzed.@*Results@#Food avoidant behaviors, including satiety responsiveness, slowness in eating and emotional undereating in ADHD children with thinness scored significantly higher than that of children with short stature, overweight and obesity(F=17.57, 29.32, 4.07, P<0.01), while food approach behaviors, including food responsiveness, enjoyment of food, desire to drink and emotional overeating scored higher in obese children, compared to other three groups(F=24.54, 47.44, 2.96,5.85, P<0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that, after adjusting for the confounders, satiety responsiveness, slowness in eating were still negatively associated with BMI-Z score of the ADHD children(B=-0.05, -0.07, P<0.01). Food responsiveness, enjoyment of food and emotional overeating had a positive association with the BMI-Z score(B=0.04, 0.09, 0.05, P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#Emotional eating and high food responsiveness in ADHD children are associated with the overweight and obesity, while long eating time and high satiety responsiveness is associated with underweight among ADHD children. For clinical doctors and parents, problematic eating behaviors among ADHD children should be concerned regarding its negative effects on growth and development, besides core symptoms of ADHD.