{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T09:07:44Z","timestamp":1789117664172,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789084800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004242","name":"Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PNURSP2026R207"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PNURSP2026R207"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004242","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["PNURSP2026R207"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PNURSP2026R207"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05b0cyh02","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Dietary interventions can potentially control ADHD symptoms, providing a non-pharmacological approach that may improve the quality of life (QoL). This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the association between ultra-processed food intake (UPF) and QoL in children and adolescents with ADHD in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A total of 128 participants (66% males and 33% females) diagnosed with ADHD, aged 8\u201318 years, were assessed. A validated Saudi food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake; the degree of food processing was assessed using a novel classification system. The health-related QoL was measured using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. Results: Both the child (57.83 \u00b1 18.12) and parent perspectives (57.97 \u00b1 16.09) of QOL scores were lower than those of healthy norms across all domains. (p-value &lt; 0.0001). The UPF represented the largest proportion of total energy intake (48.76 \u00b1 13.40%), followed by unprocessed or minimally processed foods (39.80 \u00b1 13.35%). Parent- and child-reported QoL scores were strongly correlated (p &lt; 0.0001); both were significantly lower than the healthy normative values across all domains (p &lt; 0.0001). Higher parental educational attainment was associated with better QoL scores from both the child\u2019s and parents\u2019 perspectives (p = 0.049 and p = 0.023, respectively). Conclusions: Children and adolescents with ADHD demonstrated high consumption of UPF and significantly lower QoL scores than healthy norms. No significant association was observed between UPF intake and QoL scores. Further studies are needed to better understand the factors influencing dietary quality and QoL among children and adolescents with ADHD.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu18182977","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T08:17:42Z","timestamp":1789114662000},"page":"2977","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["High Ultra-Processed Food Consumption but No Association with Quality of Life in Saudi Children and Adolescents with ADHD"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Lina M.","family":"Alwaili","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Norah S.","family":"Alsuhaibani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Heton K.","family":"Alotaibi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Loujain A.","family":"Alkhudairy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Hana A.","family":"Alanezi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3104-1019","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abeer A.","family":"Aljahdali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80215, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1516-4705","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dalal F.","family":"Alshamri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Nutrition, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz University Hospital, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11564, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9813-1524","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abeer S.","family":"Alzaben","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ragadran, J., Kamal Nor, N., Ismail, J., Ong, J.J., and Sundaraj, C. (2023). 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