Keeping Children With ADHD Healthy: Injuries, Mental Health, Teeth, Weight and Sleep

Good health matters for every child, and it can matter especially for children with ADHD. Its core symptoms — impulsivity and inattention — can lead children to do risky things or to forget healthy, protective habits. Left unaddressed, those risks can add up over time to injury, disease, or even an earlier death.

Parents play a big part in protecting them. But every child with ADHD is different, and experts can't predict whether or how a particular child will be affected — so talk with your child's health care provider about the risks and the habits that protect against them.

1. Preventing injuries

Children and teens with ADHD tend to get hurt more often and more seriously than their peers. Why isn't fully understood, but inattention and impulsivity likely play a part. Risks include:

2. Supporting mental health

Children with ADHD are at higher risk of mental, behavioral and emotional conditions, including:

• behavior disorders, which may raise the risk of interpersonal violence and delinquency (youth violence prevention);
• mood disorders such as anxiety and depression (children's mental disorders).

These can in turn raise the risk of:

• being bullied (stopbullying.gov);
• tobacco and other high-risk substance use (youth tobacco);
• suicide (youth suicide prevention);
• sexual risk-taking (how parents can help).

More: data on ADHD and other conditions.

3. Caring for teeth

Children with ADHD have a higher risk of injuries to the mouth and teeth and of cavities (tooth decay, or caries). Help them build good habits: oral health tips for children.

4. Activity, food and sleep

Children with ADHD are more likely to be overweight or have obesity. Healthy habits include:

• healthy eating — plenty of fruit, vegetables and whole grains, and lean protein;
• physical activity every day, suited to their age;
• limiting screen time on TVs, computers, phones and other devices;
• the recommended amount of sleep for their age.

Treatment side effects

Some ADHD treatments, such as stimulant medication, can have side effects that affect health — trouble sleeping and loss of appetite, for example. Talk them over with your child's provider.

Help and support

CDC funds the National Resource Center on ADHD (NRC), a program of CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), set up as the national clearinghouse for up-to-date, evidence-based information on ADHD. Its website links to information for people with ADHD and their families, and its call center — 1-866-200-8098 — has trained staff to answer questions.

More from CDC: positive parenting tips · chronic disease · injury prevention · ADHD materials.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org, to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Sources

Based on "Protecting the Health of Children with ADHD," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain.