Link Between Morbid Obesity in Toddlers and Low IQ

It is a well-known fact that obesity leads to health problems such as diabetes, hypertension and elevated cholesterol. Recent research suggests that there may be intellectual and cognitive effects as well. Researchers at the University of Florida have discovered a link between morbid obesity in toddlers and lower IQ scores, cognitive delays and brain lesions similar to those seen in Alzheimer's disease patients (www.sciencedaily.com).

The exact cause of these cognitive impairments is still not known. University of Florida UF researchers suspect the metabolic disturbances obesity causes could be taking a toll on young brains, which are still developing and not fully protected (www.sciencedaily.com). This study was published in the Journal of Pediatrics this month. Daniel J. Driscoll, M.D., Ph.D., a UF professor of pediatrics and molecular genetics and microbiology in the College of Medicine lead the study.

Researchers compared 18 children and 18 adults with early-onset morbid obesity, which means they weighed at least 150 percent of their ideal body weight before they were 4 years old, with 19 children and adults with Prader-Willi syndrome, and with 24 of their normal-weight siblings (www.sciencedaily.com). Researchers chose lean siblings as a control group "because they share a socioeconomic group and genetic background," according to Driscoll.

Links between cognitive impairments and Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes people to eat nonstop and become morbidly obese at a very young age if not controlled, are already established (www.mediicalnewstoday.com). The shocking news is that children and adults who were obese as toddlers for no known genetic reason scored almost as poorly on IQ and achievement tests as Prader-Willi patients (www.mediicalnewstoday.com).