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Brain function may play role in childhood obesity
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Compared with healthy-weight children, children with obesity have a network imbalance in their brain that may make them more prone to overeating, according to research published in Heliyon.
“We know the brain plays a big role in obesity in adults, but what we understand about the neurological connections associated with obesity might not apply to children,” BettyAnn A. Chodkowski, a PhD candidate from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said in a press release. “We wanted to look at the way children’s brains function in more detail so we can better understand what is happening neurologically in children who are obese.”
Chodkowski, along with Kevin D. Niswender, MD, PhD, and Ronald L. Cowan, MD, PhD, also of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, evaluated 38 children aged 8 to 13 years (six children with overweight; five children with obesity) to determine whether imbalance in functional connectivity in an a priori defined brain network is associated with obesity and eating behaviors.
“Adults, and especially children, are primed toward eating more,” Niswender said in the release. “This is great from an evolutionary perspective — they need food to grow and survive. But in today’s world, full of readily available, highly advertised, energy-dense foods, it is putting children at risk of obesity.”
Researchers evaluated data on children’s body weight and responses to the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire, as well as MRI scans on three areas of the brain, including the inferior parietal lobe (associated with inhibition), the frontal lobe (associated with impulsivity) and the nucleus accumbens (associated with reward).
A link was found between body weight, eating behavior and balance in brain function. Imaging revealed a stronger connection in the frontal lobe (impulsivity) in children who tended to behave in ways that made them eat more compared with the inferior parietal lobe (inhibition); the opposite relation was found in children who behaved in ways to avoid food.
“We think mindfulness could recalibrate the imbalance in the brain connections associated with childhood obesity,” Cowan said in the release. “Mindfulness has produced mixed results in adults, but so far there have been studies showing its effectiveness for weight loss in children.”
Disclosure: Chodkowski reports no relevant financial disclosures. Cowan reports publication royalties from Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, consulting for Jones & Bartlett Learning, Southwest Michigan First Life Science Fund and the University of West Alabama, and research and salary support from Novo Nordisk and Shire Pharmaceuticals. Niswender reports research funding from Novo Nordisk.
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