Diet and physical exercises for preschoolers with ADHD and their mothers: An intervention study

Abstract

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a serious public health problem. Diet-focused approaches and physical exercise can be used to complement other ADHD management techniques. Objective: To determine the prevalence of ADHD symptoms among preschoolers in nursery schools and to evaluate the educational interventions toward nutrition and physical exercise in mothers and their preschoolers with ADHD symptoms. Research methodology: A two-phase sampling method was employed. First, a cross-sectional survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of ADHD symptoms in four nursery schools (400 preschoolers aged between 3 and 6 years). Second, an intervention study (a quasi-experimental research design with one group completing the pre-test and the post-test) was performed on 36 preschoolers having ADHD symptoms and their mothers by using the educational intervention for mothers and photos and games about nutrition and physical exercise for the preschoolers with ADHD; mothers of four children out of the 40 refused to participate in the study. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. The paired t-test was used to determine significant differences between the groups. Differences were considered significant at P < 0.05. Results: Of the 400 preschoolers, 10% had high ADHD symptoms. The mean score of mothers’ knowledge of nutrition and physical exercise improved after the implementation of the program (p = 0.01). In addition, preschoolers with ADHD enjoyed the session with photos and games (p = 0.01). Conclusions and Implications: Educational intervention significantly improved the knowledge of the mothers. Moreover, preschoolers with ADHD symptoms enjoyed the session with photos and games. This intervention appears to be feasible and promising for further investigation of its effects.

Keywords

• Preschooler
• ADHD symptoms
• Nutrition
• Physical exercise