Disinhibited Eating in Obese Adolescents Is Associated With Orbitofrontal Volume Reductions and Executive Dysfunction

Abstract

In adults, obesity has been associated with disinhibited eating, decreased cortical gray matter volume, and lower performance on cognitive assessments. Much less is known about these relationships in adolescence and there are no studies assessing behavioral, cognitive, and neurostructural measures in the same group of study participants. This study examined the relationship between obesity, executive function, disinhibition, and brain volumes in relatively healthy youth. Participants included 54 obese and 37 lean adolescents. Participants received a cognitive battery, questionnaires of eating behaviors, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Neuropsychological assessments included tasks targeting frontal lobe function. Eating behaviors were determined using the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), and structural MRIs were performed on a 1.5 T Siemens Avanto MRI System (Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) to determine brain gray matter volumes. Lean and obese adolescents were matched on age, years of education, gender, and socioeconomic status. Relative to lean adolescents, obese participants had significantly higher ratings of disinhibition on the TFEQ, lower performance on the cognitive tests, and lower orbitofrontal cortex volume. Disinhibition significantly correlated with Body Mass Index, Stroop Color-Word score, and orbitofrontal cortex volume. This is the first report of these associations in adolescents and point to the importance of better understanding the associations between neurostructural deficits and obesity.

Obesity and Memory

“…Results of the present study were correlating with the earlier studies [2,3] where obese children have less scores in letter span test compare to non obese children. All the subjects showed a progressive decrease in short term memory status from 3rd trial onwards.…”

Fat brains, greedy genes, and parent power: A biobehavioural risk model of child and adult obesity

“…Obese versus lean adolescent girls additionally show relatively decreased caudate responses to actual delivery of 0.5 mL tastes of milkshake (Stice et al, 2008a). There may also be structural differences between obese and lean adolescents: in a large study of obese and lean 14 -21 year olds, Maayan et al (2011) reported lower OFC volume in the obese, and found that lower OFC volume was associated with higher dietary disinhibition scoresalthough only among the lean group.…”

Association between Overweight/Obesity and Academic Performance in South Korean Adolescents

“…Interestingly, obesity might also be associated with reduced cognitive capabilities and memory functions (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13). Indeed, a high body mass index (BMI) has been linked with negative alterations in brain structure and an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (14)(15).…”

“…Given the negative association of obesity with cognitive and memory functions (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15), being overweight/obesity might have a negative influence on the academic achievement of adolescents. However, epidemiological evidence regarding the association between being overweight/ obesity and adolescents' academic performance is lacking.…”