This articles addresses the common misconception, held by both medical professionals & laypersons alike, that ADHD is caused by sugar intake.
Research findings below give solid evidence against the attempts to explain the etiology of ADHD as a “behavioral disorder caused by sugar intake” and instead reinforce it’s continued treatment as a psychiatric disorder.
In children, high sugar consumption correlates with hyperactivity (Kim and Chang, 2011) and in adults, with inattention and impulsivity (Li et al., 2020). However, some inconsistencies remain regarding the potential correlation (Yu et al., 2016; Farsad-Naeimi et al., 2020) or not (Del-Ponte et al., 2019) with ADHD (Johnson et al., 2011; Paglia, 2019).
A recent meta-analysis of 7 studies encompassing a total of over 25,000 participants from 6 countries on 3 continents & found no evidence of an association between sugar consumption and ADHD in youth (Farsad-Naeimi et al., 2000).
Although Farsad-Naeimi & colleagues (2020) meta-analysis indicated a positive relationship between overall sugar and sugar-sweetened beverages consumption and symptoms of ADHD, there was heterogeneity among included studies. Future well-designed studies that can account for confounds are necessary to confirm the effect of sugar on ADHD.
In other words, future studies will be able to account for these confounding variables & illuminate that ADHD is not indeed a disorder of sugar intake but rather a psychiatric diagnosis worthy of clinical attention & treatment. While sugar intake is associated with a plethora of other medical illnesses, it does not cause ADHD.
Farsad-Naeimi et al. (2020). Sugar consumption, sugar sweetened beverages and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complementary Therapies in Medicine Volume 53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2020.102512
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