Link between obesity and poor brain health in children

Childhood obesity is a growing concern in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one in every five American children is obese.

Using MRI data from the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States, researchers have found that higher weight and body mass index (BMI) in pre-adolescence are associated with poor brain health.

The study used imaging data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study that included 11,878 children aged 9-10 years from 21 centers across the country to represent the sociodemographic diversity. After excluding children with eating disorders, neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diseases, and traumatic brain injury, the study group included 5,169 children out of which 51.9% were females.

To gain a comprehensive view of brain health within the study group, the team evaluated information from structural MRI and resting-state functional MRI (fMRI), which enables researchers to measure brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow. With resting state MRI, the connectivity between neural regions-known as resting state networks-can be observed while the brain is at rest. The researchers also evaluated data from diffusion tensor imaging-a technique that helps assess white matter-and restriction spectrum imaging, an advanced diffusion MRI technique.

The researchers observed structural brain changes in children with higher weight and BMI z-scores, including significant impairment to the integrity of the white matter. Areas of degradation included the white matter of the corpus callosum, the principal connector between the brain's two hemispheres, and tracts within the hemispheres that connect the lobes of the brain. The researchers also observed a thinning of the outermost layer of the brain, or the cortex, which has been associated with impaired executive function.

Reference:

Simone Kaltenhauser et al, MEETING 108th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America