Understanding health behaviors that modify the risk for obesity in ADHD.

This article investigates the association between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and overweight or obese status (OW/OB) in U.S. youth aged 11–17, focusing on how sleep duration, physical activity, and media use moderate this risk. Using data from the 2018–2019 National Survey of Children's Health, the study found that unmedicated youth with ADHD had a higher prevalence of OW/OB compared to medicated youth with ADHD and peers without ADHD, whose OW/OB rates were similar. Meeting recommended guidelines for sleep, physical activity, and media use was generally linked to lower OW/OB risk, but among unmedicated youth with ADHD, only adequate sleep duration was significantly associated with reduced OW/OB risk. The findings suggest that prioritizing improved sleep duration may be particularly important in managing obesity risk in youth with ADHD, especially those not receiving medication.