title: Is there any relationship between obesity and mental flexibility in children?
abstract: Cognitive profiles of 12 schoolboys with obesity were compared with their peers with normal weight. For the cognitive assessment five clinical tasks were selected: digit span memory, Raven's progressive matrices (intelligence), semantic verbal fluency, D2 attention endurance and Wisconsin card sorting test. We found no differences in memory, intelligence and verbal fluency between the two groups. Children with obesity performed worse on D2 and Wisconsin tests. Correlations confirmed relationships between body weight, body mass index, attention and Wisconsin measured perseveration in set-shifting. This suggests that childhood obesity involves cognitive deficits in shifting and attention abilities.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology Medical School, Pécs University, Szigeti str. 12., Pf. 99, H-7602, Pécs, Hungary
authors.forename: Renáta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cserjési
authors.forename: Dénes
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Molnár
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Luminet
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lénárd
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011340:Problem Solving