Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Aug 31;19(1):99.
doi: 10.1186/s13034-025-00954-w.

Eating behavior and sleep habit problems and their correlation with symptoms in children with ADHD comorbid with overweight or obesity

Xifei Wang  1   2 , Xiaojing Yue  1   2 , Lili Wang  1   2 , Feiyong Jia  1   2 , Honghua Li  3   4   5
Affiliations

Eating behavior and sleep habit problems and their correlation with symptoms in children with ADHD comorbid with overweight or obesity

Xifei Wang et al. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. .

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have reported eating and sleep issues in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but few have focused on those comorbid with overweight/obesity. This study aimed to investigate eating behavior and sleep habit problems in children with ADHD and comorbid overweight/obesity, and their relationship with ADHD core symptoms in such children.

Methods: The study included 124 children with ADHD and overweight/obesity and 145 children with ADHD and normal weight. The Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire, Children's Sleep Habit Questionnaire, and Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Parent Rating Scale were used to assess eating behavior problems, sleep habit problems, and core ADHD symptoms, respectively.

Results: Compared to the normal-weight children with ADHD, those with overweight/obesity scored higher in food responsiveness, enjoyment of food, night waking, sleep-disordered breathing, and daytime sleepiness, while lower in satiety responsiveness, slowness in eating, and emotional undereating. Lower scores of satiety responsiveness and slowness in eating were associated with the presence of overweight or obesity among children with ADHD. In the ADHD overweight/obesity group, shorter sleep duration was correlated with higher body mass index (BMI), and higher food responsiveness was associated with more severe attention deficit symptoms.

Conclusions: Children with ADHD and overweight/obesity reported more eating and sleep problems than those with normal weight. Lower satiety response and faster eating rate may be potential risk factors for overweight/obesity in children with ADHD. Among those with comorbid overweight/obesity, shorter sleep duration associates with higher BMI, and greater food responsiveness relates to more severe attention deficit symptoms. These findings suggest eating and sleep behaviors should be considered in ADHD management, with further research needed on targeted interventions.

Keywords: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Eating behavior; Obesity; Overweight; Sleep habit.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The Research Ethics Committee of the First Hospital of Jilin University (Changchun, China) approved the study protocol (2017−314). Informed consent was obtained from all participants or their guardians. Consent for publication: All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Association AP. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th Edition: DSM-5. 2013. - PubMed
    1. Ayano G, Demelash S, Gizachew Y, Tsegay L, Alati R. The global prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents: an umbrella review of meta-analyses. J Affect Disord. 2023;339:860–6. 10.1016/j.jad.2023.07.071. - PubMed
    1. Li YJ, Xie XN, Lei X, Li YM, Lei X. Global prevalence of obesity, overweight and underweight in children, adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev. 2020;21(12): e13123. 10.1111/obr.13123. - PubMed
    1. Yang R, Mao S, Zhang S, Li R, Zhao Z. Prevalence of obesity and overweight among Chinese children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a survey in Zhejiang province, China. BMC Psychiatry. 2013;13:133. 10.1186/1471-244X-13-133. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Turan S, Tuncturk M, Ciray RO, Halac E, Ermis C. ADHD and risk of childhood adiposity: a review of recent research. Curr Nutr Rep. 2021;10(1):30–46. 10.1007/s13668-020-00346-w. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources