Preschool thinking skills and weight
A growing body of evidence points to a link between being overweight and having poor thinking, or cognitive skills.
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Smarter preschoolers are less likely to be overweight.
A growing body of evidence points to a link between being overweight and having poor thinking, or cognitive skills. This led researchers to look for associations between cognitive function and weight in a group of preschool-age boys and girls in Spain.
They report that smarter children at the age of 4 were less likely to be overweight when they were 6 years old. However, due to the low variability in body weight among the preschool children in the study, the researchers were unable to determine whether higher, early-age thinking skills actually protect a child from being overweight when older.
The researchers used standard tests to determine the verbal, number, memory, drawing, and ball playing skills of 482 boys and girls who were 4 years old. When the children were 4 and 6 years old, they categorised weight using body mass index - the ratio of height to weight commonly used to determine how fat or thin a person is.
By the time the children turned 6 years old, it was found that nearly 17 percent were at risk of becoming overweight, and another 12 percent were overweight. It was found that preschool children with above average language, number, and puzzle solving skills were less likely to be overweight two years later when they were old enough to enter school. Compared with kids who were of a healthy weight, the researchers found those who were overweight at age 6 had lower thinking and verbal skills, on average, when they were 4 years old.
This association remained after allowing for other factors that might influence the results such as gender, weight at birth, characteristics of the mother, number of siblings, and diet. Moreover, the children with higher thinking and verbal skills at age 4 were also less likely to maintain an unhealthy weight status during the subsequent 2 years.
However, additional long-term investigations are necessary to further clarify these observations.
A growing body of evidence points to a link between being overweight and having poor thinking, or cognitive skills. This led researchers to look for associations between cognitive function and weight in a group of preschool-age boys and girls in Spain.
They report that smarter children at the age of 4 were less likely to be overweight when they were 6 years old. However, due to the low variability in body weight among the preschool children in the study, the researchers were unable to determine whether higher, early-age thinking skills actually protect a child from being overweight when older.
The researchers used standard tests to determine the verbal, number, memory, drawing, and ball playing skills of 482 boys and girls who were 4 years old. When the children were 4 and 6 years old, they categorised weight using body mass index - the ratio of height to weight commonly used to determine how fat or thin a person is.
By the time the children turned 6 years old, it was found that nearly 17 percent were at risk of becoming overweight, and another 12 percent were overweight. It was found that preschool children with above average language, number, and puzzle solving skills were less likely to be overweight two years later when they were old enough to enter school. Compared with kids who were of a healthy weight, the researchers found those who were overweight at age 6 had lower thinking and verbal skills, on average, when they were 4 years old.
This association remained after allowing for other factors that might influence the results such as gender, weight at birth, characteristics of the mother, number of siblings, and diet. Moreover, the children with higher thinking and verbal skills at age 4 were also less likely to maintain an unhealthy weight status during the subsequent 2 years.
However, additional long-term investigations are necessary to further clarify these observations.
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