Western Diet Linked to ADHD

An Australian team has found an association between “Western style” dietary pattern and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  Wendy H. Oddy, from Telethon Institute for Child Health Research (Perth, Australia), and colleagues assessed data collected on 2,868 live birth children enrolled in The Raine Study.  At the study’s 14-year follow-up mark, the researchers collected data on the now-adolescent study subjects, and conducted diagnostic assessment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  The team found that those teens who consumed a “Western style” diet, characterized by take-out and processed foods, were at more than a two-fold increased risk of developing ADHD, as compared to those teens who consumed a “healthy diet” featuring fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and fish.