Effect of overweight and obesity on cognitive function in children from 8 to 12 years of age: A descriptive study with a cross-sectional design

Introduction: overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence have progressively increased in recent years. In addition to known comorbidities, obesity has been related to poor school performance at all ages, and is associated with cognitive impairment. Objective: to determine the difference in cognitive function between children from 8 to 12 years of age with normal weight, overweight, and obesity. Material and methods: an observational, cross-sectional study was carried out in 46 children from 8 to 12 years of age. Children were classified into 3 groups: normal-weight, overweight, and obese. Subsequently, cognitive function tests were performed. Results: the majority of obese children presented cognitive impairment (63 %; p = 0.02), with a greater degree of impairment compared to that observed in the other groups (80 %; p < 0.05). On the other hand, it was observed that children with overweight still have the possibility of avoiding the development of cognitive impairment if they change their habits, since the results of this group were similar to those found in the normal-weight group. Conclusions: we found a significant increase not only in cognitive impairment, but also in its degree of severity in obese children as compared to those with overweight or normal weight.