For many obese young girls, the deck may be stacked against them.

A new study has found that girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tend to be more obese than those who don’t have the condition, according to a Healthday report.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic examined 1,000 people and found that girls with ADHD were twice as likely to be obese as girls who didn’t have the disorder. And it has nothign to do with common ADHD treatments like Ritalin or Adderall.

Instead, scientists think there’s likely some biological mechanisms that are key in both obesity and ADHD. Brain abnormalities may cause both ADHD and eating disorders, leading to both a difficulty in focusing at school as well as a tendency to overeat. And then there is the fact that kids who have ADHD often have sleep issues, which can exacerbate the problem of overeating.

Parents can combat the problem by being proactive. If they know that their child has ADHD and therefore has a tendency to overeat, they should monitor their eating habits and make sure the child gets enough exercise each day. Visiting a doctor to come up with a customized plan is certainlyr ecommended.

Strangely enough, there was no connection between ADHD and obesity in men in this study. Instead, boys who are hyperactive actually tend to burn more calories, indicating there are definitely gender differences when it comes to ADHD. ADHD seems to manifest itself in different ways with boys and girls, causing boys to act out but girls to overeat. This may be because girls tend to internalize behaviors more than boys.