Joe Wicks says junk food causes ADHD

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13292511/amp/Joe-Wicks-blames-ultra-processed-junk-explosion-children-ADHD-reveals-ran-sugar-kid-thinks-love-Sunny-Delight-Wagon-Wheels-jam-sandwiches-caused-behavioural-issues.html

I politely disagree with Joe. I have a very health conscious friend who cooks from scratch, plenty of vegetables and a Mediterranean diet as recommended by all healthcare professionals and has two children. One has ADHD and one doesn’t.

Has Joe jumped the shark on this one?

No. Saying ‘every child‘ is goady and similar comments have been deleted on here before for saying just that. Saying diagnosis can be stemmed back to diet is simply false.

He’s talking nonsense and ADHD UK have rightly responded to tell him as much.

My suspicion is that these very tame comments from JW touch a nerve with parents who feed their children junk food and really don't like the thought that this may unduly affect their behaviour and exacerbate (not cause) ADHD symptoms. They lash out at the person pointing out an uncomfortable truth rather than having an introspective moment to see if low hanging fruit may have a positive impact.

Which people?

People here?

Have you been assessed or gone through it? It’s quite an effort here; we saw a pscyhologist for a year and would have had to then be referred to a paed and they assess, I had no idea. We haven’t done that for now as we don’t want to try medication yet for our son as he’s managing (us less so!) and can’t see much other point of it, I don’t feel the psychologist made a big impact and cost $$$$$$$. If I didn’t think I’d pursue medication I just wouldn’t bother going through it, we will in a year or two when we think it’s time for that. So no criticism of people not getting assessed.

Or maybe some of us have been aware of him and his will do anything to stay in the limelight for some years now.

Always a whiff of not so quiet desperation about him. Changes area of expertise every time he slips off the radar, makes ridiculous generalisations, etc.

But, tbf, it's his attitude to women and their bodies that's particularly repulsive.

More than agree. I didn’t realise until recently some doctors query whether adhd actually exists. There is no clear diagnostic, only from observation of behaviour. There was a big feature about it in the paper recently. (FWIW I think there is definitely something, they don’t understand it very well so it could easily be a bit different from current thinking, but I also think it’s important especially in medicine that doctors can have these dissenting views even when controversial. I draw the line at batshit like anti vaxxers though)

Junk food exacerbates ADHD but it doesn't cause it.

I did. I also much prefer to receive official guidance from ADHDUK or registered nutritionists than a celebrity who is now fear mongering about sugar without evidence. It's shown that ADHD numbers are increasing due to awareness, less stigma and adults now being recognised as having it (since 2008). This is the same celebrity who was flashing his pubes around on Instagram only a couple of months ago, I struggle to take him seriously.

No, my daughter has though. It's been a mission since primary school were not supportive and secondary has been useless. She's doing a lot better on meds thankfully. Also having an ASD assessment currently. We had to pay private.

Which is why I find what he said so offensive. It's a hard job advocating for your child, especially when it involves fighting for "reasonable adjustments" and support. For us we wanted to get her diagnosed before GCSES. Shortage of meds was a pain too

Lots of defensive people on this thread 👀

Can you link to any sources re his attitude to women etc? I actually haven't seen much of him in the limelight for ages so he can't be that desperate. I think he's done an awful lot of good towards attitudes to exercise, balanced diets, mental health etc

Oh, I thought it was standing under electricity pylons that caused it. Or was that frizzy hair?

Technically, when he was awarded his honorary doctorate from the university where he originally gained a batchelor's in Sports Science, which would include units on nutrition and research skills/methodology/etc.

Can't imagine that the chaotic household he grew up (heroin addict father and mother with mental illness that require hospitalisation) and attending a non-grammar school (in an area with very strong grammars and independent choices) which would have significantly greater numbers of children with poorer behaviour, SEND and lower academic ability was the best start to life, either. But he got the GCSEs, the post 16 qualifications and the degree, nonetheless.

For all the snotty putdowns, he's not unqualified, has achieved significantly even before you take into account things like raising 2 million quid for charity in one go and has the right to an opinion about health, behaviour and fitness as it is his job and has been since he (quite sensibly) decided that a career as a PE teacher wasn't what he wanted - working as a TA tends to do that to people.

I wouldn’t pay attention to anything this guy said.

During covid he made out he was being so altruistic with his keep fit videos when it was just a means to earn a ton of money. No issue with him earning the money if he is honest about his motives but he always makes out it is to help the general public as if he is doing it for free.🙄

He makes my skin crawl.🤮

Oh yes, neuro diversity is caused by junk food. Presumably that our mother's ate while we were in the womb.

Funnily enough my BF has ADHD as do her 2 DC. She is the healthiest eater I know. To the extent her DC are too embarrassed to eat their packed lunch at school!!!

Christ, that's not what JW said.

I think that's unfair.

The nature of some neurodevelopmental disorders means that often children will simply refuse to eat a wider range of tastes and textures and can have a very restricted diet.

When dd was younger she would projectile vomit when encouraged to eat fruit for example. Fights about food can cause meltdowns in nd children to the extent that they develop eating disorders and/or self harm.

Sometimes any calories are better than none. Unless people are raising children with additional they don't understand the issues involved.

I accept that, but what I don't accept is that people on here have deliberately misrepresented what he said, insulted him, insulted his family and not at all engaged in what he has said.

Because when people who know nothing of any scientific research start throwing dumbass comments around, should firstly know their place, junk food = unhealthy diet, excess fat .... but have zero knowledge about very complex issues in the medical research field.
People are intolerant of kids enough as it is who have ND issues and we need to takes steps forwards, not open their stupid diatribe - causation doesn't equate to correlation

But what's that got to do with neurodiversity? I'm not sure a degree in Sports science covers developmental disorders?

You're being far too polite 😂 he should, as they say, 'stay in his lane'.

Food makes a massive difference to my ADHD daughter, but she has ADHD whether she eats a rainbow of healthy fresh veg or snorts a line of rainbow drops.

E133 blue is the one that really makes her doolally. She is 7 and refuses to eat it because she doesn't like the way it makes her feel.

Diet, sport, exercise and mindfulness have been the best help for her so far. We've not tried meds yet.

I just read it he said 'every child's has a diagnosis. That's clearly untrue. Most of my DD's friends do not have diagnoses. He talks about sugar causing his behavioural issues - yes, could be true. But ADHD is a developmental disorder it's not a 'behaviour issue'. So it seems at best muddled at worst rubbish what he has said.

What on earth does 'jump the shark mean'?

Never knew there was so much hatred for Joe Wicks!

But also, I would never read the Daily Mail or trust anything it prints!

Aah bless. Is Joe using his years as a doctor to make these claims or his over inflated sense of ego and confidence ?