The relationship between motor skills, ADHD symptoms, and childhood body weight.

BACKGROUND: Research has suggested an important association between motor proficiency and overweight/obesity. Many children with motor difficulties experience ADHD symptoms which have also been linked with overweight/obesity. Previous research has not considered both ADHD and motor performance when investigating their relationship with overweight/obesity. AIMS: To investigate the relationships between motor performance, ADHD symptoms, and overweight/obesity in children. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving189 children aged six to 10 years. Symptoms of ADHD were identified using the SNAP-IV rating scale. Motor impairment (MI) was identified using the Movement Battery Assessment for Children-2. Body composition was estimated from the Body Mass Index (BMI) based on World Health Organization child growth standards. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Balance was the only motor skill associated with BMI even after controlling for gender and ADHD. Group comparisons revealed that the proportion of overweight ADHD children was significantly less than the proportion of overweight control children and overweight MI children; the proportion of underweight ADHD children was significantly greater than the proportion of underweight MI children. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The results highlight the importance of taking into consideration both ADHD symptoms and motor difficulties in the assessment and intervention of physical health outcomes in children with ADHD and/or movement problems.

Motor development of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To compare both global and specific domains of motor development of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with that of typically developing children. METHODS: Two hundred children (50 children with clinical diagnoses of ADHD, according to the DSM-IV-TR and 150 typically developing controls), aged 5 to 10 years, participated in this cross-sectional study. The Motor Development Scale was used to assess fine and global motricity, balance, body schema, and spatial and temporal organization. RESULTS: Between-group testing revealed statistically significant differences between the ADHD and control groups for all domains. The results also revealed a deficit of nearly two years in the motor development of children with ADHD compared with the normative sample. CONCLUSION: The current study shows that ADHD is associated with a delay in motor development when compared to typically developing children. The results also suggested difficulties in certain motor areas for those with ADHD. These results may point to plausible mechanisms underlying the relationship between ADHD and motor difficulties.

Motor development of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Objective:To compare both global and specific domains of motor development of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with that of typically developing children.Methods:Two hundred children (50 children with clinical diagnoses of ADHD, according to the DSM-IV-TR and 150 typically developing controls), aged 5 to 10 years, participated in this cross-sectional study. The Motor Development Scale was used to assess fine and global motricity, balance, body schema, and spatial and temporal organization.Results:Between-group testing revealed statistically significant differences between the ADHD and control groups for all domains. The results also revealed a deficit of nearly two years in the motor development of children with ADHD compared with the normative sample.Conclusion:The current study shows that ADHD is associated with a delay in motor development when compared to typically developing children. The results also suggested difficulties in certain motor areas for those with ADHD. These results may point to plausible mechanisms underlying the relationship between ADHD and motor difficulties.