Fat mass predicts food-specific inhibitory control in children

Impaired inhibitory control has been associated with obesity, high blood pressure and lack of physical fitness. These impairments are thought to be related to decreased cognitive control over excessive food consumption and may start in childhood. However, previous studies in children have examined inhibitory control deficits using general (non-food-specific) tasks and relied on body mass index, which does not distinguish the amount of fat mass. As fat mass, hypertension and physical fitness have been shown to play a role in cognition, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between these variables and food specific inhibitory control in children.

Children's (n = 48; Age 10.7 ± 0.6 years) general characteristics, fat mass, cardiorespiratory fitness, blood pressure and performance on a food-specific inhibitory control task (Go/No-go) were measured across two sessions.

Fat mass and sex were associated with inhibitory control performance, while no associations were found for cardiorespiratory fitness, blood pressure and other potential confounding variables (i.e. age, pubertal timing, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, scholar test performance and heart rate). Linear regression analyses showed that only fat mass predicted poorer food-specific inhibitory control (β = 0.36; ΔR² = 0.04; p < .05) and sex predicted inhibitory control for toys (control condition) (β = 0.42; ΔR² = 0.11; p < .01). Neither blood pressure nor cardiorespiratory fitness predicted food specific inhibitory control.

These findings suggest that fat mass is an independent predictor of inhibitory control for food in children.