Fat pre-teens are less able to solve problems and think logically compared to their lighter peers, a new study reveals. Those with a high BMI had different brain structures, circuits and cognitive performance than other kids with a normal BMI.
Scientists are concerned with their findings at a time of life when children's brains are developing quickly. The team from Boston Children's Hospital studied nearly 5,000 nine to 10-year-olds at 21 sites across the United States.
While they couldn't prove that a high BMI caused the differing brain functions they could say there was a 'significant' association between the two compared to preteens with normal body-mass index . Study leader Dr Caterina Stamoulis, a researcher in Adolescent Medicine and director of the Computational Neuroscience Laboratory at Boston Children’s Hospital, finds the association concerning.
