The following is a summary of “Body Mass Index, Systemic Inflammation and Cognitive Performance in Adolescents: A cross-sectional Study,” published in the October 2023  issue of Psychoneuroendocrinology by Caldú, et al.

Being overweight has been linked to worse brain ability. Inflammation is one way that being overweight can affect the ability to think and remember things. Researchers’ theory is that body mass index (BMI) and amounts of inflammatory biomarkers in the blood will be linked to worse cognitive performance. The study looks at things from different angles.

Study was done on 105 adolescents (46 normoweight, 18 overweight, 41 obese). Some chemicals found in blood were measured, including interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), and fibrinogen. They were tested on cognitive abilities and were given six scores: verbal memory, working memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, decision-making, and fine movement speed. A single general linear model was used to look at how the four inflammation biomarkers, as well as the BMI, sex, and age of the subjects, affected the six cognitive measures. It was seen that BMI had a negative link with inhibitory control (F = 5.688, p =.019; β = −0.212, p =.031), verbal memory (F = 5.404, p =.022; β = −0.255, p =.009), and fine motor speed (F = 9.038, p =.003; β = −0.319, p =.001). There was a negative relationship between TNFα levels and both inhibitory control (F = 5.055, p =.027; β = −0.226, p =.021) and word memory (F = 4.732, p =.032; β = −0.274, p =.005).

The study was cross-sectional, cognitive tests were made for clinical reasons, and BMI was used as a substitute for obesity. These are all flaws in the study that need to be taken into account when analyzing the data. Our research shows that some parts of executive processes, along with verbal memory, are vulnerable to certain inflammation agents linked to fat at young ages.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306453023002767