According to the National Institute of Mental Health, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)is one of the most common mental disorders in children. Neurologist Dr. Fred Bauman reports on adhd-report.com that in 1985, 500,000 children were diagnosed with ADHD. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates 3-5% of American children today have ADHD- approximately 2 million.
While the medical community studies possible causes and solutions to this growing problem, Dr. Michael S. Wendt, Ed.D. thinks he has found a primary cause.
"The first indication that I was onto something surfaced when I compared the decrease in fitness and activity levels of children with the rising incidence of psychosomatic disorders over the past ten years. There was a direct inverse relationship."
This great article on kidsrunning.com summaries some of the work done by Dr. Wendt, including a 6-week study that linked significant improvements in the behavior of ADHD children when enrolled in a supervised exercise program.