Childhood obesity's effect on cognition and brain connectivity worsens with low family income.
JCI Insight
; 9(16)2024 Jul 09.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38980723
ABSTRACT
Childhood obesity and its adverse health consequences have risen worldwide, with low socioeconomic status increasing the risk in high-income countries like the United States. Understanding the interplay between childhood obesity, cognition, socioeconomic factors, and the brain is crucial for prevention and treatment. Using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, we investigated how body mass index (BMI) relates to brain structural and functional connectivity metrics. Children with obesity or who are overweight (n = 2,356) were more likely to live in poverty and exhibited lower cognitive performance compared with children with a healthy weight (n = 4,754). Higher BMI was associated with multiple brain measures that were strongest for lower longitudinal diffusivity in corpus callosum; increased activity in cerebellum, insula, and somatomotor cortex; and decreased functional connectivity in multimodal brain areas, with effects more pronounced among children from low-income families. Notably, nearly 80% of the association of low income and 70% of the association of impaired cognition on BMI were mediated by higher brain activity in somatomotor areas. Increased resting activity in somatomotor areas and decreased structural and functional connectivity likely contribute to the higher risk of being overweight or having obesity among children from low-income families. Supporting low-income families and implementing educational interventions to improve cognition may promote healthy brain function and reduce the risk of obesity.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Pobreza
/
Encéfalo
/
Índice de Masa Corporal
/
Cognición
/
Obesidad Infantil
Límite:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Región como asunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
JCI Insight
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
Pais de publicación:
Estados Unidos