Familial Obesity Risk and Current Excess Weight Influence Brain Structure in Adolescents

Obesity risk transmits from parents to children. Underlying neural mechanisms were investigated in this study by evaluating influences of familial obesity risk defined by maternal obesity and influences of current overweight on three indices of brain structure in adolescents.

In total, 22 lean adolescents with lean mothers (lean low-risk), 25 lean adolescents with mothers with obesity/overweight (lean high-risk), and 36 adolescents with obesity/overweight underwent structural MRI scans for estimation of regional gray and white matter volume and cortical thickness.

The lean high-risk compared with the lean low-risk group demonstrated lower gray and white matter volume and cortical thickness in the postcentral gyrus (somatosensory cortex), lower gray and white matter volume in the opercular cortex (taste cortex), lower gray matter volume and cortical thickness in the anterior cingulate cortex, and lower cortical thickness in the precuneus. Comparisons of the lean and obesity/overweight groups revealed further structural alterations in the postcentral gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus, and middle temporal gyrus.

Familial obesity risk and current obesity/overweight were associated with overlapping and distinct patterns of brain structure alterations. Longitudinal studies are warranted to investigate whether structural changes associated with familial obesity risk predict future weight trajectories.