Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by chownie 1267 days ago
> ADHD used to be only a tiny amount of outliers and is growing, thanks to the lifestyle we lead.

I think this might be a misunderstanding. Rates of ADHD may be higher but I think it's more likely we have an environment which now challenges people with ADHD more than in the past.

The advent of electrical lighting did not cause an increase in pattern-reactive epilepsy, it just created conditions in which pattern-reactive epilepsy were more likely to be triggered. I believe now is the same.

2 comments

If increased stress and the demand for 8 hours of uninterrupted mentally challenging work exacerbates ADHD, why wouldn't increased food availability - especially high density ones - exacerbate obesity in those with a a satiety loop defect.

If you eat until you are no longer physically capable of eating more it sure matters if you ate vegetables or pastries.

same thing we now have an environment that challenges our starvation signals in ways our ancestors never had to deal with. They never had an ever present source of dense calory food.