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(STLMoms) – Are kids who take stimulant medications for ADHD also packing on the pounds? Pediatrician Dr. Kathleen Berchelmann with St. Louis Children’s Hospital talks about the surprising results from new research.

This study looked at the body mass index (BMI) of 160,000 children ages 3-18 years. Children with ADHD that were not on stimulant medications had higher BMIs compared to children without ADHD.
Children with ADHD who were on stimulant medications had lower BMIs as younger children, but eventually experienced a ‘BMI rebound,’ and grew into adolescents with higher BMIs.

‘The findings suggest that stimulant use, rather than ADHD itself, is most strongly associated with growth trajectories in childhood, early BMI rebound, and later obesity.

Learn more at Children’sMD.org