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