Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 10, 2026

An Experimental Analysis of Children's Ability to Provide a False Report about a Crime
07:36

An Experimental Analysis of Children's Ability to Provide a False Report about a Crime

Published on: May 3, 2016

9.1K

Impact of Early-Life Weight Status on Cognitive Abilities in Children

Nan Li1, Kimberly Yolton2, Bruce P Lanphear3

  • 1Department of Epidemiology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.

Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)
|May 26, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Early childhood obesity may negatively impact cognitive development. Higher weight status in early life was linked to lower scores in perceptual reasoning, working memory, and potentially overall intelligence in children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Neurodevelopmental Science
  • Obesity Research

Background:

  • The relationship between childhood obesity and cognitive development remains under-explored.
  • The developing brain is particularly vulnerable to environmental influences, including nutritional status.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between early-life weight status and cognitive function in children.
  • To determine if weight-for-height standard deviation scores in early childhood predict later cognitive abilities.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the HOME Study (2003-2006) involving mother-child pairs.
  • Assessed early-life weight status using weight-for-length/height standard deviation (SD) scores.
  • Administered neuropsychological tests at ages 5 and 8 to evaluate cognition, executive function, and visual-spatial abilities.

Main Results:

  • A 1-unit increase in weight-for-height SD score was associated with a decrease in full-scale IQ scores (β = -1.4).
  • Perceptual reasoning (β = -1.7) and working memory (β = -2.4) scores also decreased with increased weight-for-height SD.
  • No significant associations were found between weight status and other cognitive measures.

Conclusions:

  • Early-life weight status is inversely associated with perceptual reasoning and working memory in children.
  • Findings suggest a potential link between early-life weight status and full-scale intelligent quotient scores.
Abstract

More Related Videos

Measuring the Functional Abilities of Children Aged 3-6 Years Old with Observational Methods and Computer Tools11:29

Measuring the Functional Abilities of Children Aged 3-6 Years Old with Observational Methods and Computer Tools

Published on: June 20, 2020

9.8K
Determining Soil-transmitted Helminth Infection Status and Physical Fitness of School-aged Children10:57

Determining Soil-transmitted Helminth Infection Status and Physical Fitness of School-aged Children

Published on: August 22, 2012

24.4K

Related Concept Videos

Cognitive Dissonance01:38

Cognitive Dissonance

Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
37.5K
Half-life of a Reaction02:42

Half-life of a Reaction

The half-life of a reaction (t1/2) is the time required for one-half of a given amount of reactant to be consumed. In each succeeding half-life, half of the remaining concentration of the reactant is consumed. For example, during the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, during the first half-life (from 0.00 hours to 6.00 hours), the concentration of H2O2 decreases from 1.000 M to 0.500 M. During the second half-life (from 6.00 hours to 12.00 hours), the concentration decreases from 0.500 M to...
39.2K
Characteristics of Life01:23

Characteristics of Life

Biology is a natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their structure, function, development, interactions, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. The field's scope is extensive and divided into several specialized disciplines, such as anatomy, physiology, ethology, genetics, and many more. All living things share a few key traits, including cellular organization, heritable genetic material and the ability to adapt/evolve, metabolism to regulate energy needs, the...
262.5K
The Angiosperm Life Cycle02:39

The Angiosperm Life Cycle

Plants have a life cycle split between two multicellular stages: a haploid stage—with cells containing one set of chromosomes—and a diploid stage—with cells containing two sets of chromosomes. The haploid stage is the gamete-producing gametophyte, and the diploid stage is the spore-producing sporophyte.
72.7K
Weighted Mean00:57

Weighted Mean

While taking the arithmetic, geometric, or harmonic mean of a sample data set, equal importance is assigned to all the data points. However, all the values may not always be equally important in some data sets. An intrinsic bias might make it more important to give more weightage to specific values over others.
For example, consider the number of goals scored in the matches of a tournament. While computing the average number of goals scored in the tournament, it may be more important to...
6.4K
Impact of Groups on Groups01:19

Impact of Groups on Groups

Social psychologists analyze how groups influence one another, shaping social structures and interactions through both cooperation and competition. These dynamics manifest in various ways, ranging from economic partnerships to intergroup conflicts that shape societal structures and perceptions.Cooperation and Competition in Intergroup RelationsIntergroup relationships vary across contexts, sometimes fostering cooperation and mutual benefit while at other times leading to conflict and...
258