High Prevalence and Overlap of Neurodevelopmental Problems in Children with Obesity

The aim was to identify neurodevelopmental diagnoses and problems and the extent of their overlap in children undergoing obesity treatment.

Totally, 139 children (72 girls; mean age 12.7 years, mean BMI SDS 3.1) were recruited from three obesity clinics in Sweden. Motor, executive, perception, memory, language, learning, social, and emotional/behavioural functioning were assessed with an age-normed questionnaire. Scores ≥ the 90th percentile were considered indicative of problems with probable clinical relevance in each domain. Neurodevelopmental diagnoses were subsequently collected from the patients' records. The proportion of children exceeding the clinical threshold in each domain was compared with the expected population frequency (10%) and between participants with and without neurodevelopmental disorders.

The proportion exceeding the 90th percentile was significantly higher than the expected 10% in all domains: ranging from 33.6% (memory functioning) to 54.0% (emotional/behavioral functioning) (p < 0.001). Neurodevelopmental disorders were diagnosed in 52.5% (73/139). Diagnosed children had higher rates and greater overlap of neurodevelopmental problems than children without diagnoses (p < 0.001).

Recognizing neurodevelopmental problems in children with obesity may improve understanding of their needs in obesity treatment settings.