Obesity And Child's Brain: How Badly Does It Affect The Brain Health?

Add as a preferred source on Google

As per reports, the prevalence of childhood obesity will be approximately 10.81% among children between 5 and 9 years of age by 2030, and around 6.23% among adolescents between 10 and 19 years of age.

In other words, by 2030, one in 10 obese children will be from India. Childhood obesity is associated with numerous health problems, as well as psychological problems such as anxiety and depression, low self-esteem and lower self-reported quality of life. Also, bullying and stigma in the social sphere are also associated with childhood obesity [1][2].

Recently, in the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States, researchers found that obesity and body mass index (BMI) were associated with negative brain changes in children [3].

Obesity And Child's Brain: How Badly Does It Affect The Brain Health?

Here are the important points from the study:

Point 1: Approximately 11,878 children from 21 centers across the country were evaluated as part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study [4]. The researchers were left with 5,169 (51.9 per cent female) children after excluding children with disordered eating, neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diseases, or traumatic brain injury.

Point 2: Researchers examined whether weight, body mass index, and brain changes were related.

Point 3: In order to ensure a standardized approach, they reviewed the children's BMI Z-scores. These are measures of the child's relative weight adjusted for their age, gender, and height.

Note: Similarly to BMI standard deviation scores (s.d.s.), body mass index z-scores are measures of relative weight adjusted for child age and gender. The BMI z-score (or its equivalent BMI-for-age percentile) can be calculated based on the child's age, sex, BMI, and appropriate reference standards [5].

Point 4: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was also used to identify microstructural or morphological changes in the brains of the children, which led to the measurement of changes in blood flow and, ultimately, brain activity [6].

Point 5: The researchers observed significant impairments to the integrity of the white matter of the brain in children with higher weights and BMI z-scores.

Point 6: In order to assess brain health, a number of factors must be considered, including their overall cardiovascular health, their sleep patterns, their diet, and their exercise regimen. An increase in weight and a decrease in BMI z-scores were found to be associated with decreased brain connectivity in this study, as shown by resting-state fMRI images. A number of these changes were found in brain areas associated with cognitive control, motivation, and reward-based decision-making, according to the researchers.

Point 7: Researchers concluded that high weight in childhood is associated with poor brain health, namely changes in white matter, decreased grey matter thickness, and reduced functional connectivity.

On A Final Note...

A child's brain development and health are critical in the early stages of life. If there is a link between childhood obesity and poor cognition, it is crucial that preventative measures are taken.

A major benefit of this research is its ability to educate families and patients who are at high risk of developing childhood obesity. It comes down to educating children about living a healthy lifestyle from an early age. In order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, one must eat nutritious foods, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy weight.