Excess BMI in early adolescence adversely impacts maturating functional circuits supporting high-level cognition and their structural correlates
Authors' conclusion
Excess BMI in early adolescence may be associated with profound aberrant topological alterations in maturating functional circuits and underdeveloped brain structures that adversely impact core aspects of cognitive function.
Study context
- Population
- Youth in early adolescence from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) cohort; median (IQR) age 120.0 (13.0) months, 52.25% female
- Participants
- 4,922 participants
- Exposure
- Excess BMI vs normal BMI
- Overweightn = 736
- Obesityn = 672
- Outcome
- BMI-related alterations in functional network topology (resting-state fMRI), brain structure (sMRI) and high-level cognition
Methodological detailsABCD cohort, cross-validated linear regression, reproduced across multiple fMRI datasets
- ABCD cohort
- Cross-validated linear regression
- Reproduced across multiple fMRI datasets
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Obesity or overweight: lower topological efficiency, resilience, connectivity, connectedness and clustering in default-mode, dorsal attention, salience, control, limbic and reward networks
- P ≤ 0.04, Cohen's d: 0.07-0.39
- Lower cortico-thalamic efficiency and connectivity only with obesity
- P < 0.01, Cohen's d: 0.09-0.19
- Both groups: lower cortical thickness, volume and white matter intensity in these networks' structures, particularly anterior cingulate, entorhinal, prefrontal and lateral occipital cortices; these mediated inverse BMI–functional topology relationships
- P < 0.01, Cohen's d: 0.12-0.30
- Obesity or overweight: lower fluid reasoning task scores, partially correlated with topological changes
- P ≤ 0.04
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Demographic and lifestyle correlates of excess BMI
- More Black and Hispanic vs white, Asian and non-Hispanic youth with excess BMI
- P < 0.01
- Obesity or overweight: less physically active, less sleep than recommended, more frequent snoring, more electronic device time
- P < 0.01
Original publication
Excess BMI in early adolescence adversely impacts maturating functional circuits supporting high-level cognition and their structural correlates. Int J Obes (Lond). Published 3 April 2023. doi:10.
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