Report: 1 in 10 U.S. Kids Has ADHD
Kids who struggle to pay attention, control impulsive behavior, or fidget or chatter incessantly are often diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. And the rate of these diagnoses has continued its upward trend, new research suggests. Nearly one in 10 children between ages 4 and 17 has ADHD, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During a four-year period—from 2003 to 2007—the rate of children diagnosed with the condition jumped 22 percent. The increase can probably be attributed to a growing awareness of symptoms and better screening, CDC researchers say. "Regardless of what's undergirding this, we know more parents are telling us their children have ADHD," lead author Susanna Visser told the Associated Press. The 73,000 children involved in the study were divided into three age groups. The biggest increase in diagnoses, 42 percent, occurred in teens ages 15 to 17, according to the report.
Women Who Drink Sugary Beverages Raise Risk of Gout
Women who drink fructose-rich beverages such as sugar-sweetened sodas and orange juice are at increased risk for gout, a new study finds. The incidence of gout—a painful type of inflammatory arthritis—in the United States increased from 16 per 100,000 people in 1977 to 42 per 100,000 in 1996. That rise coincided with a large increase in soda and fructose consumption, the study authors noted. Fructose-rich beverages can cause a buildup of uric acid in the blood, which leads to gout, HealthDay reports.
In this study, researchers analyzed data from 78,906 women who took part in the Nurses' Health Study between 1984 and 2006. The women had no history of gout at the start of the study. Over the next 22 years, 778 of the women were diagnosed with gout. Compared with women who consumed less than one serving of sugar-sweetened soda per month, those who consumed one serving per day were 74 percent more likely to develop gout and those who consumed two or more servings per day had a 2.4 times higher risk. [Read more: Women Who Drink Sugary Beverages Raise Risk of Gout.]
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Obese Teens Likely to Be Obese Adults, Study Finds
Obese teenagers are 16 times more likely to become severely obese adults than teens of normal weight, new research finds. Someone who is severely obese is about 100 pounds or more above their ideal body weight, according to the study's senior author, Penny Gordon-Larsen, an associate professor of nutrition at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
"We were looking at adolescent weight status and how it relates to the development of severe obesity in adulthood because we're concerned that obesity and severe obesity have both increased over time, and during the period from teen to young adult, there's an increased risk for weight gain," Gordon-Larsen told HealthDay. "Our study demonstrated that obese adolescents are at risk for becoming severely obese in adulthood, and I think if people understand the risk of severe obesity, which is a lot of extra weight, they might be motivated to make changes. Teens might at least be motivated to maintain their current weight," she said. [Read more: Obese Teens Likely to Be Obese Adults, Study Finds.]
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