The Negative Influence of Adiposity

Extends to Intraindividual Variability in

Cognitive Control among Preadolescent
Children
Morgan Chojnacki
03/09/2018
 Chojnacki, M. R., Raine, L. B., Drollette, E. S., Scudder, M. R.,
Kramer, A. F., Hillman, C. H., & Khan, N. A. (2017). The Negative
Influence of Adiposity Extends to Intraindividual Variability in
Cognitive Control Among Preadolescent Children. Obesity.
 AGENDA

1. Background & Introduction

2. Objective & Hypothesis
3. Participants
4. Methods
5. Results
6. Conclusion
7. Questions / Comments
 Background & Introduction

• Greater than 1/3 of children in the USA has overweight or obesity

(≥85th BMI-for-age percentile)
– 18.5% of children have obesity

https://nccd.cdc.gov/dnpao_dtm/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=DNPAO_DTM.ExploreByTopic&islClass=OWS&islTopic=OWS1&go=GO
 Background & Introduction

• Obesity contributes to
numerous health and
psychosocial problems

• 40% of healthcare costs are

related to obesity
 Background & Introduction
Executive
Function

Inhibitory Working Cognitive

Control Memory Flexibility
Background & Introduction

Terrie E. Moffitt et al. PNAS 2011;108:7:2693-2698

 Background & Introduction

o Measures of Cognitive Function

o Central Tendency
o Accuracy (% correct)
o Reaction Time (ms)
o Dispersion
o Intraindividual Variability (IIV)
o Standard Deviation of Reaction Time (SDRT)
o Coefficient of Variation of Reaction Time (CVRT)
o SDRT ÷ RT
 Background & Introduction

• Improved cognitive control during development is predictive

of later academic achievement
• Aerobic fitness is a protector of brain health
• Previous research supports a negative relationship between
obesity and cognitive control
Background & Introduction
• How obesity and excess fat
mass influence cognitive
control are less clear
• Obesity and Fitness are rarely
examined together
– “Separate entities”
• Cognition is usually studied as
measure of central tendency
– IIV may be a more sensitive
measure
• Increased IIV is related to
ADHD, Alzheimer’s, and
Dementia
 Objective & Hypothesis
• Objective: To examine the relationships between adiposity and
cognitive performance using measures of both central
tendency and intraindividual variability, while accounting for
demographical factors and aerobic fitness

• Hypothesis: Greater adiposity will be related to poorer mean

performance and higher IIV among preadolescent children.
Additionally, children with overweight and obesity will have
higher IIV in relation to their healthy weight counterparts.
Participants

clinical trial
registration number
NCT0619826
 Methods
Day 1:
• ~3 hours
• Surveys completed by parents &
children
• Woodcock Johnson Test of Cognitive
Abilities
• VO2max Fitness Test
Methods
Day 2:
• ~3 hours
• Modified Flanker Cognitive Task
• DXA (body composition)

Modified Flanker Task

ITI 1600, 1800, or 2000 ms (jittered)

1 practice block of 54 trials
2 Blocks of 84 trials per block
 Statistical Methods
o Normality was assessed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and
Shapiro-Wilk Tests
o Outliers ±3 standard deviations from the mean
o Pearson correlations were used to assess bivariate
relationships and establish variables used in regression
o 2-tailed, p<0.05 considered significant
o Hierarchical linear regression analyses were used to examine
variability in cognitive performance
o Step 1: Demographic and IQ
o Step 2: VO2FF
o Step 3: %Fat
o One way ANOVA was used to determine differences in IIV
across weight status groups
Results
Results
Results
Results
Results
 Results

• Healthy weight children exhibited lower IIV compared to both

the overweight and obese groups for both congruent and
incongruent trials
– This is only true for IIV, not for accuracy or reaction time

• %Fat contributes variance for accuracy (higher %fat = lower

accuracy), reaction time (higher %fat = slower reaction time),
and CVRT (higher %fat = increased CVRT)
– Aerobic fitness did not predict variance in any of the regression models
 Conclusion

• Limitations: cross-sectional data; survey response bias; no

data on the length of time children were obese
• Strengths: Largest dataset comprising fitness, adiposity, and
cognitive control data in preadolescent children
• Findings point to importance of maintaining healthy weight
status in children for better cognitive control
• Regardless of fitness level, obesity still exhibits a negative
effect on cognitive control
• IIV may be a more sensitive measure to adiposity in children
• Obesity may serve as a developmental barrier to long-term
decrements in cognitive function
 Future Directions
• Determine the directionality (correlation vs. causation) and
elucidate the influence of change in health factors to changes
in cognitive control
– The relationship between fitness, adiposity, and IIV could
be bidirectional
– Does IIV deteriorate as weight is gained? As sedentary time
increases?
– Does IIV improve as weight is lost? As physical activity
increases?
• Advisory Committee
– Naiman A. Khan, PhD, RD
– Charles H. Hillman, PhD
– Rodney Johnson, PhD
– Hannah H. Holscher, PhD, RD
• Publication Coauthors
– Arthur F. Kramer, PhD
– Lauren B. Raine, PhD
– Eric S. Drollette, PhD
– Mark R. Scudder, PhD
• Lab Members
– Anne M. Walk, PhD
– Nicholas Baumgartner, MS
– Caitlyn Edwards
– Alicia Covello
• Research Coordinators
– Ginger Reeser, MS, RD
– Linda Steinberg
– Jeanine Bensken
• Lab Techs
– Ruyu Liu
– Jackson Evenson
– Isabel Flemming
– BiBi Schell
• All of the wonderful undergrads
• Funding Agency
– CNLM/Abbott
– NIH
• Family & Friends
Questions?