A high-speed passenger train collided with a minibus carrying children in Belgium on Tuesday, resulting in a devastating crash that claimed four lives, including those of two children, and left five other young passengers critically injured.

The tragic incident occurred during the morning commute near Buggenhout, a town situated roughly 20 miles northwest of Brussels. Officials have described it as one of Belgium’s most severe rail accidents in recent memory.

According to authorities, the minibus seemingly drove through a closed railway crossing barrier just seconds before being struck by the train, which was traveling at approximately 75 mph. Surveillance footage captured the moment the bus was hit as it attempted to cross the tracks.

The bus was carrying nine individuals at the time of the collision. The East Flanders public prosecutor’s office reported that the deceased included the bus driver, an escort, and two children aged 12 and 15. The five other children on board were rushed to the hospital with serious injuries.

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Rescue workers respond to a crash between a train and a vehicle in Buggenhout, Belgium, on May 26, 2026. (Koen Baten/AP)

“What we do know is that the barrier was closed and the red light was on,” spokesperson Lisa De Wilde told reporters, adding that investigators are still working to determine the exact cause of the crash.

Emergency personnel work at a level crossing to move a van onto a flatbed truck after it collided with a train in Buggenhout, Belgium, on May 26, 2026. (Marius Burgelman/AP)

The driver appeared to have plowed through the crossing barrier, Federal Police spokesperson An Berger said. Belgian rail operator Infrabel said the crossing system was functioning properly at the time of the crash.

“The impact was extremely violent,” Infrabel spokesperson Frédéric Sacré told Belgian broadcaster RTBF, adding that the train operator had “no time to brake” before the collision.

A woman on a bike stands next to police tape and debris at a level crossing in Buggenhout, Belgium, one day after a train collided with a school van on May 27, 2026. (Virginia Mayo/AP)

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An Associated Press journalist at the scene reported that the minibus was overturned with its front end completely crushed, while the train itself suffered relatively minor damage.

Flower condolences are left at a level crossing in Buggenhout, Belgium, one day after a train collided with a school van on May 27, 2026. (Virginia Mayo/AP)

Officials said roughly 100 passengers were aboard the train, though no injuries were reported among them. Rail traffic in the area was suspended as emergency crews responded.

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said he was “deeply moved by the horrific accident in Buggenhout,” offering condolences to the victims’ families in a social media post.

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Dining out with a date? Be aware—the person sharing your table might just be there for the complimentary meal.

This intriguing possibility comes from a survey by JG Wentworth, a Pennsylvania-based financial services company. The survey revealed that 39.9% of participants confessed to having gone on a date at least once with the primary intention of enjoying a free meal.

Interestingly, the survey also found that over a quarter of respondents, 27.5% to be precise, admitted they’ve never done so but have entertained the thought. Meanwhile, 32.6% claimed the idea had never crossed their minds.

These findings align with a recent Wall Street Journal article that noted a resurgence in the popularity of traditional dinner dates among people in their 20s.

The survey, titled “Love on a Budget: Are Americans too broke to date?” questioned 1,538 U.S. adults about various aspects of the “cost of modern romance.”

Among their other key findings, the researchers noted that the average American spends $93 on a first date. 

Most modern-day daters (60.1%) also think “spending expectations around dates are higher now than they were in the past.”

So if money concerns have affected your love life — you’re far from alone.

“Almost three in ten people (29.5%) have turned down a date because they couldn’t afford it,” the survey found, “while 85.7% have turned down a second date because they felt they didn’t align financially with the other person.”

Professional development expert Jan Goss, based in Texas, told Fox News Digital the trend of dating for a free meal is a reflection of a larger shift in human behavior.

“Whether it’s a first date, a business meeting or a friendship, relationships are built on trust,” Goss said. “And so the moment we show up with this hidden agenda, we damage the foundation before it ever starts.”

We live in a culture, said Goss, that “often celebrates getting something for nothing” — and the date-for-food trend may be considered a “life hack.”

“There is an economics conversation around it, because times are tough for many and inflation is real,” Goss said. “People are struggling. But financial struggle doesn’t give us permission to compromise our integrity.”

Proper etiquette is that whoever extends an invitation pays, Goss said.

“That’s protocol,” Goss said. “If someone asks you to dinner, then the understanding is they’re going to pay.”

To avoid miscommunication or being taken advantage of, it is perfectly acceptable to clarify things up front and ask your meal companions what the expectations are, Goss said.

If paying for the meal yourself isn’t an option, then tell the other person, “It’s not in my budget this week,” Goss advised.

Another rule of thumb for Goss: Always be able to pay for your meal when you go out to eat. Don’t assume the other person will pick up the check.

“I always have the means to pay for myself,” Goss said.

“To take care of your own meal is polite, especially if it’s a first date, and you don’t really know which way it’s going to go,” she said. 

“First of all, be careful what you order. But then, secondly, when the bill comes, I would politely say, ‘I’m more than happy to split this with you.’”

Setting expectations from the beginning is critical, Goss said. When she invites her group of friends out, she lets everyone know they’ll be taking care of their own expenses.

“Show up well, be honest and respect the person across the table,” Goss concluded. 

“Or stay home. The issue in this whole thing isn’t who pays for dinner. It’s whether we’re treating people as human beings or opportunities.”

A widely used agricultural pesticide, known for its association with Parkinson’s disease and potential organ damage, is set to be outlawed in a US state, marking a national precedent.

In a groundbreaking move, Governor Phil Scott of Vermont has enacted legislation that will ban the use and sale of paraquat across the state starting November 1.

While fruit farmers may seek exemptions, they must transition away from using this pesticide, commonly applied to fruit and potato crops, by the close of 2030.

Upon signing the legislation on Tuesday, Scott remarked, “Today, I enacted H.739, initiating a gradual phase-out of the hazardous herbicide paraquat. I aspire for this action to guide other states toward similar measures.”

Paraquat is a prevalent pesticide in the United States, utilized to eliminate weeds and grasses across a diverse array of crops, including grapes, soybeans, peanuts, and pistachios.

Shown to have toxic health effects, there are strict regulations on its use in the US. 

Experts raise concerns over the impact of long-term exposure to paraquat among farmworkers and people living near treated farms. There are also some concerns over the effects of repeated exposure to trace residues that may be on store-bought food, although this is considered to be a less significant risk.

Many studies have linked the pesticide to a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, a neurodegenerative condition that gradually robs sufferers of their lives, organ failure and cancers, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma and childhood leukemia.

Vermont has become the first US state to ban the use of the pesticide paraquat. The above image shows an individual spraying pesticides onto fruit trees (stock image)

Although banned in 70 countries and in Europe, where officials outlawed its use in 2007, it remains one of the most widely used pesticides in the US.

‘The evidence linking paraquat exposure to increased Parkinson’s risk is strong and has been building for decades,’ said Dan Feehan, chief policy expert for the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which worked to get the pesticide banned in the state.

‘Other states should follow Vermont’s lead – and the federal government has an obligation to protect all Americans with a national paraquat ban.’

Under the ban, the use or sale of paraquat will be banned across the state of Vermont at the start of November this year.

Farmers who tend fruit-producing tree orchards, berries and ‘small fruit’ crops are able to apply for an exemption, which will be in place until the end of 2030.

To obtain this, however, they will need to demonstrate that no other pesticide would be effective to address weed growth typically treated with paraquat and show they had taken measures to prevent the pesticide from spreading from their property. 

The bill also calls for annual data to be reported on the use of paraquat in the state, and a state-funded study to recommend alternatives for farmers.

Some lawmakers are reported to have expressed concerns that the ban would harm the competitiveness of Vermont farmers.

Paraquat is one of the most widely used pesticides in the US, despite its links to Parkinson’s disease, according to some studies (stock image)

But others said that a ban was needed as scientific research has already established a potential link to diseases, and that the risks of continuing to use the pesticide now outweigh the benefits.

State Representative Michelle Bos-Lun said in a House committee hearing on the bill: ‘There are so many factors that are pointing to the correlation… between paraquat use and Parkinson’s.

‘We have to do something to phase this out. Our job is to support farmers and to support all Vermonters. My belief is that paraquat is causing harm to both.’

She added: ‘If there is a chance we could reduce the harm by making this step, it feels like that is a responsible thing to do.’

Paraquat has been in use in the US since 1964, and about 11 to 17 million pounds of the pesticide are sprayed nationwide annually.

But concerns have continued to mount over its health effects since the 1980s, when studies first emerged raising concerns about its use.

According to the Michael J Fox Foundation, farm workers who apply paraquat to weeds in crop fields and orchards are more than twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s than those who do not.

People who work or live near farms where paraquat is sprayed may also face a higher risk, the foundation adds.

Vermont is the first state in the US to bring in the ban. Activists have called for other states to follow suit (stock image)

Governor Phil Scott, a Republican, signed the bill into law Tuesday. He is pictured above in June last year speaking during an event with Canadian officials that discussed trade tariffs 

A study published earlier this month warned that because fruits, vegetables and whole grains are often treated with toxic pesticides, including paraquat, people who eat more of these foods may raise the risk of suffering from lung cancer.

Experts say paraquat raises Parkinson’s risk because it can trigger inflammation in the brain and damage neurons. It can also damage the DNA in cells, raising the risk that they may turn cancerous, or start to divide uncontrollably. 

Thousands of people in the US have sued Syngenta, which makes Gramoxone, the brand name for paraquat, over the potential health risks. Those cases are now part of a multi-district litigation in the Southern District of Illinois.

Syngenta said in March that it would stop making its pesticide by the end of June, but added that it was safe to use.

‘Syngenta affirms that paraquat is safe when used in line with registered label instructions,’ the company said in its press release.

In January this year, the EPA announced that it would reassess the safety of paraquat, adding that manufacturers were being required to thoroughly prove that it was safe.

The agency’s administrator, Lee Zeldin, said at the time: ‘The Trump EPA has made the important, proactive decision to freshly reassess the safety of paraquat.

‘When new science raises questions, the Trump EPA will not look the other way. We will demand the best and most accurate data, and we are prepared to act on what that data shows.’

Experts tell people to wash their fresh fruit and vegetables thoroughly with water before consumption to remove pesticides – including paraquat.

They say there is no need to use anything other than water, saying that there is limited evidence that soaps or special rinses remove these residues.

While this improves fruit and veg, they warn that it will not remove all of the pesticide that may be present.

A man raised in the United States has uncovered a startling truth about his origins: he was taken from his Chilean mother as a baby during a turbulent period in Chile’s history. For Kyle Adler, this revelation was the beginning of a profound journey of self-discovery, culminating in an emotional reunion with his biological mother earlier this year.

“Understanding where I come from has been transformative,” Adler shared. “Experiencing the warmth and affection from my birth family is truly heartening. It’s a joy to feel embraced by family once more.”

Adler, now 36, was adopted by an American family when he was just nine months old. He is one of the many children who were separated from their families during General Augusto Pinochet’s 17-year regime in Chile. Thanks to advances in DNA technology and the efforts of organizations dedicated to reconnecting Chilean adoptees with their roots, hundreds like Adler have found their way back to their origins. Meanwhile, there remains a push for justice for those families who suffered from these separations.

Adler’s adoptive parents, who took him into their home in 1990, raised him in a well-to-do Chicago suburb. Reflecting on his upbringing, Adler noted, “My adoptive parents, Mike and Connie Adler, didn’t take me with any ill intent. Naming me Kyle was part of their vision for my future, and they loved me dearly.” He believes they were unaware of the circumstances surrounding his adoption. Initially, they were reluctant to support his quest to find his birth mother, a journey he pursued until their passing in 2022.

“My parents didn’t steal me; they didn’t name me Kyle out of malice. They saw me as who they wanted me to become, and there’s a lot of love that was put into that,” Adler said of his adoptive parents Mike and Connie Adler. Adler believes neither of them knew the circumstances surrounding his adoption. He said neither were initially supportive of his decision to find his birth mother before they died in 2022.

He grew up to be an overachiever who in adulthood wanted more meaning to his life, he said.

“Suddenly now I found myself where I didn’t know what to do. I knew I was adopted and at that point, I was just like, I need to find my mom.”

The day he was taken

Adler’s biological mother, Ana Maria Navarrete, was a 19-year-old single parent working nights at a fish shop in the seaside city of Coronel, some 533 kilometers (331 miles) south of the capital. She had named him Marcos Antonio Navarrete.

One day, the caregiver told her he was taken by an American couple after a local priest made arrangements for a baby “in need of a family.”

“And she let them have him,” Navarrete told AP, furious and ashamed. The AP could not independently verify all the details of what occurred.

A police investigator told her the baby had likely been taken as part of a wide-reaching counterfeit adoption network that involved adoption agencies, immigration officials, judges, nurses and even doctors.

No one was held accountable, Navarrete said, and “those years afterward were some of the worst years of my life.”

Lacking family support, she said she eventually surrendered the idea she would get her son back.

No justice

“Justice for the poor did not exist in Chile and it still does not,” said Constanza Del Rio, founder and executive director of Nos Buscamos, a nonprofit organization with online data for thousands of cases. The government estimates more than 20,000 children were stolen from families.

Children of the poor and Indigenous populations were targeted during the Pinochet regime from 1973 to 1990, said Jimmy Lippert Thyden González, who was also illegally adopted and became a human rights lawyer.

“It was an effort to eliminate and eradicate the poor class. It was a way of eradicating the Indigenous population, the uneducated population,” he said.

Uncovering the past

In early 2017, Adler came across the Nos Buscamos Facebook group while Googling the term “Chilean birth mom search” online, he said. And that’s when he messaged Del Rio.

Within three months, Del Rio had confirmed Adler’s origin story and organized a virtual reunion.

Initially, Adler felt crushed to find out he was adopted illegally, sending him into an identity crisis that led to years of therapy.

Then last year, Adler finally felt ready for answers.

A DNA test provided by genealogy platform MyHeritage, a global family history company based in Israel, confirmed a match between Adler and 56-year-old Navarrete of Santiago and “made it official,” he said.

MyHeritage partners with both Nos Buscamos and Connecting Roots, and other nonprofits doing similar work, to provide free at-home DNA testing kits for distribution to Chilean adoptees and suspected victims of child trafficking.

Tyler Graf, the founder and CEO of Connecting Roots, traveled with Adler.

Graf had also reunited with his birth mother Hilda Quezada Godoy decades after he was taken from her, and said it is now his mission to track others taken from families in Chile.

“Now it’s time to mend these families and bring everyone back home so they can see where they came from,” Graf told the AP.

Fighting for justice for the families that were separated

Lippert Thyden González sued the Chilean government two years ago and hopes to lead the fight all the way to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. He also founded the organization Grafting Hope, a nonprofit focused on educating U.S. lawmakers and fighting for the rights of survivors of counterfeit adoptions.

The Chilean government didn’t immediately respond to several messages seeking comment from AP.

“I want justice. Not just for me, but also for him because I don’t know the type of life he had,” Navarrete told AP days after reuniting with her son.

Navarrete is working with a law firm and hopes those involved will get jail-time.

The reunion

“My birth mom’s just been wanting me to be alive,” Adler said ahead of boarding the flight from Miami in February.

The two were reunited two days after her 56th birthday on Valentine’s Day and an AP team was with them in Miami and Chile.

Tears flowed as Adler exited the international arrivals gate in Chile. Both mother and son were wearing white as Navarrete ran to embrace him. The tall, dark-haired son bent over to bury his face in his mother’s hair.

“I’m so happy to be finally meeting him, my dream has finally come true,” Navarrete said.

The emotional reunion led to a fruitful week together visiting the beach in Coronel, the hospital where Adler was born and the house where he was taken from. They recovered a copy of his original birth certificate, and he met one of his four siblings. In Miami, he had previously met another sister and her daughter.

Back in Santiago, the two enjoyed keepsakes Adler brought with him as gifts: A framed graduation diploma, childhood photographs and a pair of baby shoes his adoptive parents had kept.

Adler is not a Spanish speaker so Connecting Roots provided a translator. These days, translation apps help them continue the conversation.

Navarrete said the time spent with her son was joyful but it also made her relive much of the pain of the past 35 years.

“It took me so long to find him. And then to spend a week together only to have him leave,” Navarrete said amid tears, “it’s like I found him but I’ve now lost him all over again.”

She said she’s hopeful the family will reunite in December. For Adler, the road to forgiveness continues but he hopes Navarrete is able to let go of the trauma.

“I’m not just the son that you lost, I’m the son that you found. I’m back to being your son,” he said.

___

The story has been updated to correct that Lippert Thyden González sued two years ago, not three years ago.

EXCLUSIVE: Information obtained from Brian Hooker’s mobile device has directed U.S. investigators to focus their search efforts in a new location within the Bahamian waters, specifically targeting a 25-foot-deep area, in the ongoing search for missing Lynette Hooker, sources close to the investigation have revealed to Fox News Digital.

According to initial reports, Brian and Lynette Hooker departed from Hope Town in the Bahamas around 7:30 p.m. on April 4. Brian Hooker informed local authorities that turbulent waters caused his wife to fall overboard from their dinghy. However, GPS data retrieved from Brian Hooker’s phone reportedly conflicts with his initial statements to law enforcement, according to sources familiar with the case.

This inconsistency has led U.S. federal officials to request clearance from Bahamian authorities to conduct a search in a different section of the Sea of Abaco, where the waters reach depths of 25 feet, the sources indicated.

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Brian Hooker and the couple’s sailboat, named Soulmate, are central to the investigation as authorities continue their efforts to locate Lynette Hooker.

Authorities obtained data from Brian Hooker’s phone, specifically GPS data from a marine navigation app that was used while the couple was on the dinghy, the sources said.

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The couple was headed back to their sailboat, the Soulmate, their full-time home in retirement, when Lynette Hooker fell overboard, the husband told Bahamian authorities. They frequently sail around the U.S. and Caribbean, according to their social media pages.

Karli Aylesworth, Lynette Hooker’s daughter, told Fox News Digital that the Coast Guard has asked her family to submit DNA samples to help with their investigation.

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U.S. Coast Guard investigators search the boat Soulmate, docked at their station in Fort Pierce, Fla., on May 13, 2026. The vessel belongs to Brian Hooker and his missing wife Lynette Hooker and was brought back to the U.S. from the Bahamas by the Coast Guard. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)

The Coast Guard seized the Soulmate in early May and took it to Fort Pierce, Florida, but it was recently moved to Fort Lauderdale, as authorities couldn’t pull it from the water.

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Brian Hooker was detained for five days by Bahamian police after his wife disappeared, but wasn’t charged.

Brian Hooker’s Michigan-based attorney asked Americans in an earlier interview to give him the benefit of the doubt in an interview with ABC News.

“I would ask those watching to treat him the way you would want to be treated, to give him the benefit of the doubt, and to consider that not all of us, nor you, considering your own relationships, the way you speak to one another, we all handle things in different ways,” Crystal Marie Hauser said.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Coast Guard and Hauser for comment.

In a recent court filing, Demi Moore outlined what she described as “aggressive” behavior by her daughter Rumer Willis’ ex-partner, Derek Richard Thomas, during custody proceedings.

Moore submitted a declaration to the court in January, detailing her experiences with Thomas, who is the father of Willis’ 3-year-old daughter, Louetta. Moore claimed that Thomas seemed intent on controlling Rumer’s environment to suit his own needs.

Moore, 63, cited a particular incident during Louetta’s home birth as an example, as documented in court papers obtained by Us Weekly.

She recounted being present at the birth with Rumer’s siblings, when Thomas unexpectedly entered the birthing tub without showering, doing so in a manner she described as aggressive and abrupt.

Moore claimed this action left everyone stunned, prompting Rumer to immediately ask him to leave the tub, which he did. However, Moore noted that Thomas spent the remainder of the birth displaying anger and sulking, seemingly making the event about himself.

Moore claimed Thomas had “no consideration to Rumer, the baby, the process, or anyone else” for that matter, alleging, “He essentially ruined what should’ve been one of the happiest moments of her life.”

The “Substance” star said when she returned to the house with Rumer’s sister Scout Willis the following day, Thomas allegedly came into his girlfriend’s room to “angrily complain that we were there cleaning.”

“I heard him pressure Rumer not to have me and her sisters there with her for support. I heard him berate and angrily complain to Rumer, ‘How dare we come over without his permission,’” Moore penned in the letter, per Us Weekly.

“He stayed in the room with Rumer for at least 30 minutes that morning less than 12 hours after Rumer had given birth. He would not leave her alone. It ended only when Rumer left the room to get away from him,” she alleged in the docs.

“After cleaning, I had my first moment to hold my newborn granddaughter. I was holding her and Derek suddenly whipped off his shirt and demanded I give him the baby so he could have what he called ‘skin to skin contact.’”

Moore claimed Thomas was “aggressive” and “would not let Rumer put clothes on Louetta when she was clearly cold and needing to be bundled and swaddled.”

“He showed absolutely no respect, care, concern, compassion or support toward anyone, especially Rumer and the baby,” the “G.I. Jane” actress claimed in the declaration letter.

Moore alleged in the docs that Thomas allegedly wanted to drive a wedge between Rumer, 37, and her famous family.

“Derek constantly sucks the joy out of all encounters with him,” she claimed. “He wants to put Rumer at odds with our family, and creates unnecessary stress and fear for Rumer to this day.”

“While our family made an effort to support Derek as a new father and do our best to support Rumer around his actions, he continued to try to cut her support system completely out of the picture,” Moore added.

The “Striptease” star also alleged in the letter that Thomas has brought her granddaughter back to her home “filthy” after being in his care.

“On many occasions, he brings Louetta back filthy to my house with an unchanged diaper. He has left her car seat filthy, and his general attitude is that it is unimportant. He does not pick up after himself. He clearly expected Rumer or me or our staff to do everything for him,” she penned in the docs.

Moore said her and Bruce Willis’ eldest daughter, Rumer, is “doing 100 percent of the financial and physical support” for Louetta.

“He makes no effort to acknowledge that, support that, and in fact has only put Louetta and Rumer in more stressful situations. I have continued to see him make choices that are not reflective of someone who truly wants to share in parental responsibility,” the Oscar nominee claimed.

“He has refused to make any effort and has shown no desire to seek out means to support Louetta,” Moore continued, adding that “he refused to make choices to share in any of the basic responsibilities.”

In a statement to Page Six, Thomas’ attorney, Mike Kretzmer, said his client will “try this case in court and not in press.”

The lawyer also denied Rumer’s claims that Thomas exhibited “incessant domestic violence.”

“Ms. Willis’ statements are inaccurate and false and we intend to demonstrate this in court. Mr. Thomas is a loving, capable and wholly appropriate father to their child,” Kretzmer told us. 

“He wants nothing more than to be the best father he can be. It is, to put it mildly, unfortunate that Ms. Willis has chosen to obstruct without justification whatsoever Mr. Thomas’ relationship with his daughter.”

He added, “Ms. Willis’ accusations are bombastic and dramatic, but lack substance and factual support as we will demonstrate in Court at the appropriate time.”

In recent court docs, Rumer claimed the musician exhibited a “persistent pattern” of “insane emotional abuse” that occurred before their 2024 breakup — “often in front of the minor child or while they were trapped in the car with him.”

She also alleged that Thomas’ “erratic and bizarre” behavior “escalated” after their daughter’s April 2023 birth.

When Nell Jensen first tried the weight-loss injection Wegovy, she hoped it would mark the start of conquering her lifelong battle with weight issues.

However, it wasn’t until two years later, following a diagnosis of a common brain condition, that she finally achieved a healthier weight.

The 41-year-old, who spent her childhood in The Netherlands before relocating to Brighton, recalls being incessantly teased about her size as a young girl.

“I faced a lot of bullying,” shares Nell, who now works in customer service. “People would bluntly ask me why I was overweight. I constantly felt scrutinized.”

Nell made numerous attempts to shed pounds through various diets and exercise regimens. Despite her efforts, she struggled to manage her eating habits effectively.

She says that her biggest issue was her snacking: Nell would often mindlessly eat chocolate and biscuits, often regretting it immediately afterwards.

‘It was like I would have no control,’ she says. But in 2023 Nell reached her lowest point. After a difficult divorce that led to ‘a year of eating Chinese takeaway every day’, Nell was her heaviest at 14 stone and 13 pounds.

It was at this point that Nell decided to turn to Wegovy. The once-a-week jab suppresses appetite. Studies show that the average obese patient will lose up to a fifth of their body weight on the drug in less than a year.

Nell Jensen, 41, says she was relentlessly mocked for her weight. Little did she know that it would not be until she was diagnosed with a common brain condition two years later

Nell hoped that it would have the same effect for her – so much so that she was willing to pay roughly £160-a-month for the jabs despite her relatively low salary.

However, heartbreakingly for Nell, Wegovy failed to trigger the results that she had hoped for. Over five months, she managed to lose less than 11 pounds. Eventually, given the high price of the jabs, Nell decided to come off Wegovy.

And, worst of all, when Nell stopped taking the medicine her weight ballooned – within months returning to her heaviest.

‘It was meant to be the answer,’ she says. ‘But it just didn’t have the effect I had hoped for.’

However, two years later, Nell accidentally stumbled upon a lasting solution to her weight problems when she visited a psychologist. Nell says she had always suffered with mental health problems.

‘I felt like my brain would always get bored easily,’ she says. ‘I could never concentrate on tasks for long. I also often found communicating with others difficult. So I pushed my GP to refer me to a psychologist.’

After assessing Nell, the psychologist gave her a diagnosis: the brain disorder attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

Around 3million people in the UK are believed to have ADHD – defined by inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.

In 2025, Nell was diagnosed with the brain disorder attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Around 3million people in the UK are believed to have ADHD

While research suggests that the number of women and men with ADHD is broadly the same, experts say that females often go undiagnosed or are told they have the condition late in life.

A recent Cambridge University study found that around 40 per cent of women with ADHD do not get diagnosed until they are in their 40s.

And, crucially, experts say that there is a strong link between ADHD and obesity. According to some studies, ADHD patients are between 50 and 80 per cent more likely to be obese. Children with the condition are 30 per cent more likely to have the severe weight problem.

‘There’s a big association between the two conditions,’ says Prof Katya Rubia, a cognitive neuroscientist at King’s College London.

‘Interestingly, it seems that this link is more common in women than men.’

Experts say it is still unclear why the two are linked. However, one theory is that ADHD patients appear to have low levels of the feel-good brain chemical dopamine.

Experts say the body produces dopamine in response to activities that make us feel happy or relaxed. This could be sport, sex, or earning money. However, it can also be gained through eating.

This means, as Prof Rubia explains, that many ADHD patients may turn to food as a means of boosting their dopamine.

He prescribed her the daily tablet bupropion, a dopamine-boosting drug. Within weeks of taking her ADHD tablets, Nell realised she was snacking less

Nell says she also improved her diet, cutting out unhealthy meals like croissants and ham cheese toasties for soups and salads

Nell believes this explains her incessant snacking.

‘I realised that I had been ‘dopamine snacking’,’ she says. ‘I would eat unhealthy things because they gave me a quick mood boost. And I would do this even though I knew they were unhealthy for me.’

And, crucially, her psychologist told her that ADHD medication could potentially end her dopamine snacking.

He prescribed her the daily tablet bupropion, a dopamine-boosting drug that is often prescribed for ADHD and depression.

Nell says the pills had the unexpected side effect of making her feel cold all the time. However, within weeks, she noticed that she felt the urge to snack less.

‘It’s like I had a two-second break in my thought process before I went to pick up a sweet treat,’ she says. ‘Before I would just grab it and eat it. But once I started the drug, it’s like I had time to consider and realise I didn’t really need it.

‘It was incredible.’

Nell says she also improved her diet, cutting out unhealthy meals like croissants and ham cheese toasties for soups and salads.

Dr Rubia says that studies have shown that patients placed on ADHD medicines can lose weight. She adds that this is not necessarily always because the tablets boost dopamine.

‘Many of these ADHD drugs can suppress appetite,’ she says. ‘So that might be the cause too.’

However, Nell says she didn’t lose her appetite but instead felt she was more capable of making healthy eating decisions.

Since she began taking bupropion around a year ago, Nell has lost 3 stone and 2 pounds, meaning she is a healthy 11 stone 11 pounds – a size 10.

Nell says she often thinks about all the times she was bullied as a child for her weight – and wonders how her life would have been different if she had been diagnosed with ADHD at a young age.

‘I was always made to feel that my weight issues were my fault,’ she says. ‘And I was insecure as a result. Now I realise that it was because of a medical problem – and I wonder how many other women out there are suffering through the same without realising it.’