title: Obese Adolescents Show Reduced Cognitive Processing Speed Compared with Healthy Weight Peers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Childhood obesity and obesity-associated diabetes and metabolic syndrome (MetS) continue to rise. Obesity has been linked to structural and functional brain abnormalities, particularly in the frontal lobe.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred sixty-two adolescents (aged 19.53 ± 1.53 years) underwent medical, neurocognitive, and brain magnetic resonance imaging assessments. Participants were either healthy weight (BMI <25.0 kg/m2or BMI percentile <85%) or obese (BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2or BMI percentile ≥95%). We evaluated frontal lobe cognitive functions and the size of the corpus callosum (CC).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Groups differed on four measures of processing speed contained in four different cognitive tests, but not on executive function. A confirmatory factor analysis verified that the significant processing speed variables loaded on the same factor. We also found differences between the weight groups on the area of the anterior portion of the CC, but not the overall CC. Only the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT) was significantly correlated with the area of the anterior portion of the CC. In the obese group, 32.4% met criteria for MetS. No differences were found between obese participants with or without MetS and none of the MetS factors contributed consistently to cognitive performance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Obese adolescents show slower cognitive processing speed while maintaining equivalent performance on executive functioning compared with their healthy weight peers. The group differences in the anterior portion of the CC, responsible for frontal lobe interhemispheric communication, may in part explain our processing speed findings. Future studies should include a longitudinal design and diffusion tensor imaging to examine the integrity of white matter.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine , New York, NY.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sweat
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine , New York, NY.|2 Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research , Orangeburg, NY.
authors.forename: Kathy F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Yates
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine , New York, NY.
authors.forename: Renee
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Migliaccio
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine , New York, NY.|2 Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research , Orangeburg, NY.|3 Department of Radiology, New York University School of Medicine , New York, NY.|4 Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine , New York, NY.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Convit
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055105:Waist Circumference; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: cognition; corpus callosum; obesity; processing speed