British fitness coach, Joe Wicks, has caused a stir in the ADHD community for comments made on a BBC podcast.
On the BBC Radio 5 Live Headliners podcast, he blamed the amount of ADHD diagnoses on children and young people eating Ultra Processed Foods (UPF).
Joe Wicks said: “Looking back now, there’s no doubt the food I was eating was directly linked to my behaviour. I was never diagnosed with ADHD but I think nowadays it’s this common thing that every child seems to be being diagnosed.”
Co-founder of ADHD UK, Dr Max Davie, spoke out on an Instagram post.
“There is absolutely no evidence that any particular diet, including ultra-processed food, has any causative role in the development of ADHD symptoms and to suggest otherwise is a gross distortion of the facts.”
ADHD UK weren’t the only ones disappointed in Wicks, and rightly so. There are so many misconceptions about ADHD. One of them being that it’s a title for badly behaved children. Or that ADHD is something that only boys can get. Or that it can be “fixed” with diet. Wicks’ words have only added fuel to the misconceptions. They have further damaged the community that is trying to spread awareness of what ADHD actually is.
Wicks has done a lot of good in his career, and this comment probably wasn’t meant as malicious. However, it has caused damage and could spur on hateful stereotypes about the condition.
ADHD isn’t just children hyped-up on sugar, and it isn’t only hyper behaviour. Like many conditions (OCD, autism, etc), different people will show different symptoms. ADHD can have the opposite effect in some people, usually women, where they will daydream and seem in a daze rather than appear hyper-active, leading to a lower diagnosis rate.
This is why stereotyping can be harmful. It can lead to those who show some symptoms of ADHD, but not all, not being diagnosed; and having to live with feeling ‘different’ than others around them and not knowing why. All because a stereotype decided that they didn’t seem ADHD.
At the time of writing, Wicks has issued no apology. Hopefully he will realise his mistake and take back his harmful assumption before it causes any further upset.
Featured Image Credit: @thebodycoach / Instagram
Fourth year student journalist studying Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Journalism Studies.
Words at Brig, The Daily Evergreen, Alloa Advertiser, Discovery Music Scotland, and The Mourning Paper.
