Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,
Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Obes Facts. 2019;12(2):150-156. doi: 10.1159/000499386. Epub 2019 Mar 13.
Childhood obesity contributes to the risk of numerous health problems and has become a major global health concern. This study aimed to establish the association between obesity and cognitive function among healthy school adolescents.
This study was carried out by taking school adolescents (n = 400) from June 2016 to December 2017. The mean age of the participants was 13.93 ± 0.81 years. The students were divided into group A (obese, n = 223) and B (non-obese, n = 177). Cognitive functions were recorded as per study tool of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB).
Severely obese students showed a significant delay in cognitive functions as compared to students with normal BMI. Attention Switching Task (AST)-Latency among students with normal BMI was 647.88 ± 137.59 compared to the students with high BMI (685.08 ± 115.92, p = 0.05), AST-Incongruent was 680.78 ± 142.07 versus 726.76 ± 122.31 (p = 0.02), AST-Percent correct trials was 84.31 ± 10.45 versus 78.09 ± 14.87 (p = 0.001), and Intra-Extra Dimensional Set Shift (IED) Total errors among students with normal BMI was 33.93 ± 21.53 compared to the students with high BMI (42.86 ± 37.27, p = 0.03).
Cognitive functions including AST-Latency, AST-Incongruent, AST-Percent correct trials, and IED Total errors were significantly weakened in markedly obese students. Significant impairments in their cognitive functions, especially attention, retention, intelligence, and cognitive flexibility, were observed. The findings of this study emphasize the need to involve school adolescents in physical activities to reduce body weight in order to have cognitive functions within normal range and also to minimize obesity-associated complications.
儿童肥胖会增加多种健康问题的风险，已成为一个主要的全球健康关注点。本研究旨在确定健康学龄青少年肥胖与认知功能之间的关系。
本研究于 2016 年 6 月至 2017 年 12 月选取 400 名学龄青少年作为研究对象，平均年龄为 13.93 ± 0.81 岁。根据研究工具剑桥神经心理学测试自动化电池（CANTAB）的记录，将学生分为 A 组（肥胖，n = 223）和 B 组（非肥胖，n = 177）。
与正常 BMI 的学生相比，严重肥胖的学生认知功能明显延迟。正常 BMI 的学生注意转换任务（AST）潜伏期为 647.88 ± 137.59，而高 BMI 的学生为 685.08 ± 115.92（p = 0.05），AST-不一致性为 680.78 ± 142.07 与 726.76 ± 122.31（p = 0.02），AST-正确试验百分比为 84.31 ± 10.45 与 78.09 ± 14.87（p = 0.001），正常 BMI 的学生内外维度集转换（IED）总错误为 33.93 ± 21.53，而高 BMI 的学生为 42.86 ± 37.27（p = 0.03）。
包括 AST-潜伏期、AST-不一致性、AST-正确试验百分比和 IED 总错误在内的认知功能在明显肥胖的学生中明显减弱。他们的认知功能，尤其是注意力、记忆力、智力和认知灵活性明显受损。本研究的结果强调需要让学龄青少年参与体育活动来减轻体重，以保持认知功能处于正常范围，并最大限度地减少肥胖相关的并发症。
