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Is earlier obesity associated with poorer executive functioning later in childhood? Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study

Creese, H-M; Hope, S; Christie, D; Goddings, A-L; Viner, R; (2021) Is earlier obesity associated with poorer executive functioning later in childhood? Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study. Pediatric Obesity , Article e12785. 10.1111/ijpo.12785. (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Children affected with overweight or obesity have been associated with having lower educational achievement compared to peers who are non-overweight/obese. One of the drivers of this association could be a link between obesity and poorer executive function. Evidence is limited to small, cross-sectional studies which lack adjustment for important common causes. OBJECTIVE: We investigate the association between weight status and executive function longitudinally in mid-childhood, accounting for potential common causes. METHODS: Linear regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between weight status between 5 and 7 years and executive functioning at 11 years in members of the Millennium Cohort Study (n = 7739), accounting for a wide range of potential common causes. Age- and sex-specific International Obesity Taskforce cut-points for body mass index (BMI) were used. Executive function, including decision-making, impulsivity and spatial working memory, was assessed using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. RESULTS: There were no unadjusted associations between weight status and decision-making or impulsivity. After adjustment for all potential common causes, there was a lack of consistent evidence to support an association between persistent obesity (including overweight) between 5 and 7 years and spatial working memory task at 11 years. CONCLUSIONS: We found little evidence that poorer spatial working memory contributes to the association of children with obesity having lower educational achievement.

Type: Article
Title: Is earlier obesity associated with poorer executive functioning later in childhood? Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1111/ijpo.12785
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.12785
Language: English
Additional information: © 2021 The Authors. Pediatric Obesity published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of World Obesity Federation. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords: childhood, executive, function, obesity, overweight
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Epidemiology and Public Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Population, Policy and Practice Dept
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10125050
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