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Obesity in children is becoming a global epidemic. Health and emotional consequences can threaten life and health both during childhood and adulthood. In this study, we aimed to assess the coexistence of overweight and obesity, binge eating disorder and detrimental attitudes toward nutrition among school-age children. We also aimed to determine the usefulness of the Children's Binge Eating Disorder Scale (C-BEDS) as a screening tool. We examined a group of over 550 healthy children aged 6-12. In all, 15% were overweight, and 6% were obese. A total of 12% of the children presented an increased risk of eating disorders. The examined group of children significantly differed in the number of positive C-BEDS responses compared with the authors of the test. Test reliability as measured by the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was .008. Preliminary results indicate that the problem of excessive body weight affects every fifth child, consistent with previous reports. The C-BEDS used in this study did not permit the identification of children, neither with the risk of Binge Eating Disorder (BED) nor subthreshold BED. This may be due to the relatively low internal consistency of the questions contained in the scale.

Objective: Assessment of the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents with ADHD with emphasis on pharmacological treatment and comorbid disorders., Method: We analyzed 408 medical records of patients with ADHD aged 7 to 18., Results: The prevalence of overweight (14.71% vs. 12.83%, χ 2 = 3,586.43, p < .001) and obesity (6.37% vs. 3.45%, χ 2 = 3,588.19, p < .001) was significantly higher in children with ADHD compared with the population. There was significantly higher incidence of obesity in patients with comorbid diagnosis of adjustment disorder (22.22% vs. 4.42%, χ 2 = 5.66, p = .02) and mental retardation (19.05% vs. 4.42%, χ 2 = 7.63, p = .005). Pharmacological treatment was associated with a higher incidence of obesity (8.37% vs. 2.76%, χ 2 = 4.92, p = .03)., Conclusion: Standardized body mass index (BMI), prevalence of overweight, and obesity was higher in patients with ADHD compared with the population. Higher incidence of obesity was shown in patients with analyzed comorbidities.

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the relationship of overweight, the polymorphisms of selected candidate genes, and deficits in the executive functions among children with ADHD., Method: We examined 109 boys with ADHD aged between 7 and 17 years. The study indicated variants of 14 polymorphisms in eight candidate genes. We applied seven neuropsychological tests to evaluate the executive functions. Overweight was diagnosed on the basis of the guidelines of the International Obesity Task Force., Results: Analyses revealed significant association between DRD4 rs1800955, SNAP25 rs363039 and rs363043, 5HTR2A rs17288723, and overweight in boys with ADHD. There were no significant differences in the level of neuropsychological test results between patients with overweight and without overweight., Conclusion: Overweight in boys with ADHD is associated with polymorphisms in three candidate genes: DRD4, SNAP25, and 5HTR2A, but not through conditioning deficits in cognitive functions.

Objective: The aim of the study was to hierarchically assess the predictive power of low and high birth weight, pre-term and post-term birth, and low Apgar score as the risk factors for ADHD., Method: The data of 132 boys diagnosed with ADHD and 146 boys from control group, aged 6 to 18 years, have been analyzed. The boys were categorized according to term of birth, birth weight, and Apgar score. CART method (Classification and Regression Trees) was used for assessment of the relationship between perinatal factors and the risk of ADHD., Results: Low Apgar score (21.97% vs. 13.01%) and post-term birth (12.12% vs. 0.68%) were more frequent in the sample than in the control group. CART method additionally indicated low birth weight as associated with the risk of ADHD. Among analyzed risk factors, Apgar score had the highest predictive value., Conclusion: The decreased Apgar score is the most important perinatal risk factor of ADHD. Research results also indicated a high significance of post-term birth in predicting the disorder.