Does a Mediterranean Diet Affect ADHD?

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were likely to eat fewer “Mediterranean” foods and consumed more fast food than healthy controls, but this cross-sectional study cannot show causality.

In Spain, traditional diets have been increasingly replaced by fast foods and sugary beverages, which led investigators to examine the relationship between intake of Mediterranean-diet components and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in 60 children with confirmed ADHD diagnoses (mean age, 9 years; range, 6–16; 57% male) and 60 age- and sex-matched controls without ADHD.

The comprehensive assessments involved food frequency and Mediterranean diet questionnaires; energy expenditure via wrist-attached actigraphs; and plasma iron, ferritin, and zinc levels. Participants with ADHD were significantly more likely to have medium or low than high adherence to a Mediterranean diet (odds ratios, 2.8 and 7.0, respectively) and had…

Reviewing Author

Barbara Geller, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Barbara Geller, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Does a Mediterranean Diet Affect ADHD?

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Reviewing Author