Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
PLoS One. 2018 Apr 17;13(4):e0195934. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195934. eCollection 2018.
The understanding on the roles of obesity and lifestyle behaviors in predicting executive function of adolescents has been limited. Low executive function proficiency may have adverse effects on adolescents' school academic performance. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the relationship between BMI-for-age and multiple lifestyle behaviors (operationalized as meal consumption, physical activity, and sleep quality) with executive function (operationalized as inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) on a sample of Malaysian adolescents aged between 12 and 16 years (N = 513). Participants were recruited from two randomly selected schools in the state of Selangor in Malaysia. Using a self-administered questionnaire, parent participants provided information concerning their sociodemographic data, whereas adolescent participants provided information regarding their meal consumptions, physical activity, and sleep quality. The modified Harvard step test was used to assess adolescents' aerobic fitness, while Stroop color-word, digit span, and trail-making tests were used to assess adolescents' inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility, respectively. Three separate hierarchical regression analyses were conducted for each outcome namely, inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. After adjusted for sociodemographic factors and BMI-for-age, differential predictors of inhibition and working memory were found. Habitual sleep efficiency significantly and positively predicted inhibition. Regular dinner intakes, physical activity levels, and sleep quality significantly and positively predicted working memory. Household income emerged as a consistent predictor for all executive function domains. In conclusion, an increased trend of obesity and unhealthy lifestyles among adolescents were found to be associated with poorer executive function. Regular dinner intakes, higher physical activity levels and better sleep quality predicted better executive function despite the inverse relationship between obesity and executive function. Future studies may explore how lifestyle modifications can optimize the development of executive function in adolescents as well as relieve the burden of obesity.
对肥胖和生活方式行为在预测青少年执行功能中的作用的理解是有限的。低执行功能水平可能对青少年的学业成绩产生不利影响。本横断面研究旨在考察马来西亚 12 至 16 岁青少年（N=513）的 BMI 与多种生活方式行为（饮食、体力活动和睡眠质量）与执行功能（抑制、工作记忆和认知灵活性）之间的关系。参与者从马来西亚雪兰莪州的两所随机选定的学校中招募。使用自我管理问卷，家长参与者提供了有关其社会人口统计学数据的信息，而青少年参与者则提供了有关其饮食、体力活动和睡眠质量的信息。改良的哈佛台阶测试用于评估青少年的有氧健身水平，而斯特鲁普颜色-单词测试、数字跨度测试和轨迹形成测试分别用于评估青少年的抑制、工作记忆和认知灵活性。对每个结果（即抑制、工作记忆和认知灵活性）分别进行了三次分层回归分析。在调整了社会人口统计学因素和 BMI 后，发现了抑制和工作记忆的不同预测因素。习惯性睡眠效率显著正预测抑制。定期晚餐摄入、体力活动水平和睡眠质量显著正预测工作记忆。家庭收入是所有执行功能领域的一致预测因素。总之，研究发现青少年中肥胖和不健康生活方式的增加趋势与较差的执行功能有关。尽管肥胖与执行功能呈负相关，但定期晚餐摄入、更高的体力活动水平和更好的睡眠质量预测了更好的执行功能。未来的研究可以探索如何通过生活方式的改变来优化青少年执行功能的发展，并减轻肥胖的负担。
