The journal ʻPediatricsʼ highlights an UB study on the Mediterranean diet and the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in children and adolescents

The study is the first scientific one on the relation between the Mediterranean diet and ADHD in children and adolescents.
The study is the first scientific one on the relation between the Mediterranean diet and ADHD in children and adolescents.
Research
(17/01/2018)

A study that relates/links the Mediterranean diet with a lower diagnose of the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been highlighted by the journal Pediatrics as one of the top ten articles published in 2017. The study, the first scientific one on the relation between the Mediterranean diet and ADHD in children and adolescents, is led by Maria Izquierdo Pulido, lecturer from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences of the University of Barcelona, and member of the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition Networking Biomedical Centre (CIBERobn), and José Ángel Alda, head of section at the Psychiatry Unit in the University Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona. 

The study is the first scientific one on the relation between the Mediterranean diet and ADHD in children and adolescents.
The study is the first scientific one on the relation between the Mediterranean diet and ADHD in children and adolescents.
Research
17/01/2018

A study that relates/links the Mediterranean diet with a lower diagnose of the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been highlighted by the journal Pediatrics as one of the top ten articles published in 2017. The study, the first scientific one on the relation between the Mediterranean diet and ADHD in children and adolescents, is led by Maria Izquierdo Pulido, lecturer from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences of the University of Barcelona, and member of the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition Networking Biomedical Centre (CIBERobn), and José Ángel Alda, head of section at the Psychiatry Unit in the University Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona. 

 

ADHD, which affects about the 3,4% of children and adolescents worldwide, is one of the most common mental disorders in children and teenagers. Hyperactivity, impulsiveness and attention deficit are some of the main symptoms of this disorder, which can linger up to adulthood.


The study, funded by the Health Institute Carlos III, was carried out with 120 children and teenagers (60 with ADHD and 60 as a control group). According to the study, now highlighted by the journal Pediatrics, some inappropriate eating habits could play a role in the development of this mental disorder. Despite not fixing the fact that the Mediterranean diet could be a protecting factor against ADHD, the study highlights that people should be on healthy diets during childhood and adolescence, as well as maintaining a healthy lifestyle during adulthood.


Further information