Hyperactivity,or attention-deficit/hyperactivity di sorder (ADHD), is a learning
disability than occcurs in 3 to 5 percent of youbf,school-aged children.at least 1 in every clasroom of 30 children.ADHD is characterizes by the cronic inability to pay attention,along with overly behavior and poor impulse control(see the margin).it clean delay growth,lead to academic failure, and cause major behavioral problems.althougt some children improve with age ,many reach the college years or adulthood before they receive a diagonosis and with it the possibility of treatment. Food allergies have been blamed for ADHD,but research to date has shown no conection.research has also all but dismissed the idea that sugar makes children hyperactive.over a decade ago,one study did find an associations between doses of the food coloront tartrazine and increased irritability,restlessnessn and, sleep disturbances in a small percentage of hyperactive children.parents who wish to avoid tartrizine can find it listed with the ingredients on food labels. Parents hpe that a new diet or some other simple solution my improve childrens behavior.unfounded dietary treatments my seem to help for a while due to the placebo effect,but they fail to provide lasting cures. Common sense says that all children get unruly nad hyper at times.a child who often fills up on caffeine-containing colas and chocolate,misses lunch,becomes too cranky to nap,misses out on outdoor play, and spends hours in front of a televisions suffers stresses that can trigger choronic patterns of crankiness.this cycle of tensions and fatigue resolves it selfwhrn the caretakers begin insisting on reguler hours sleep,reguler mealtimes, a nutritions diet and reguler outdor exercise. Living with choronic hunger is a cause of misbehavior in some children;simply lifting the children from poverty often significantly improvers their behavior.an estimed 12 million U.S. children are hungry at least some of the time.such children often lack iron and a link between iron deficiency and ADHD may be emerging.hunger issues are many ;see chapter 15.once the obvious causes of misbehavior are elominated,a physician can recommend other strategies such as special.educational programs or psycological counseling and,in many cass,prescrpition medications.
Key Point : Hyperactivity,properly named attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD),is
not caused by food allergies;temporary hyper behavior may rellect excess,caffeine consumption or inconsisten care.a wise parent will limit childrens caffeine intakes and meet their needs for structure.poverty may cause behavior problems.
Time Use,Televisions, and Childrens nutritions problems
The average child in the United States watches many hours of television each week.in addition,vidio and computer games and other media add significantly to childrens pasive viewing time,while,active free play time decreases substantially.television exerts four major adverse impacts on childrens nuritions. First,television viewing reguirs no nergy.its seems to reduce the metabolic rate below the resting level,requiring even less energy than daydreaming.second,it consumes time that could be spent in energetic play.an inactive child can become obese even while eat-ing less food than an active child.third,more televisions watching correlates with more between-meal snacking and with eating the high-calorie fatty and sugary foods most heavily advertised on childrens program,increasing the risk off dental caries.fourth,children who watch more than four hours of television a day,or watch during meals,are least likely to eat fruits and vegetables and most likely to be obese.The averange U.S. child sees an estimated 30.000 TV commercials a year,many for high-sugar,high-fat foods such as sugar-coated cereals,candies,fried snack chips,fast foods,and sugar-sweetened soft drinks.childrens intakes of suggary foods and soft drinks and fatty treats have soared in recent years while intakes of other more nutritions foods have fallen off.To oppose the effects of marketing on childreen s appetites,it often helps to walk children to help them to recognize the motivations and marketing techniques of advertisement. Some blame a sedentary lifestyle for the upswing in obesity in children and adults.Fewer and fewer children actively participate in physical educations classes.At home limiting television watching and other sedentary activities is probably a good idea do (up to 65 percent off 8-to 18-years olds) spend even more time watching television and are very likely to be overweight.