Brain function is different in obese children
Researchers at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center have found that the brains of obese children function differently from the brains of those children of a healthy weight. The study included 38 children, some of whom were overweight or obese, and, through the use of questionnaires and MRI techniques, they found a profound difference in the food-seeking behaviours of obese children. Using previous knowledge about different areas of the brain being involved in certain behaviours, the researchers were able to map out the effect of obesity on the brain, finding that unhealthy eating behaviours reflected an imbalance in the functional connectivity of the brain towards impulsivity.
The study authors hope that their findings could highlight the use of mindfulness, a technique used to focus awareness, as a therapeutic target for obese children by reducing the effect of this imbalance on the brain, and possibly helping control it. By bringing balance in the brain, mindfulness could help to reduce impulsivity, and by encouraging children to eat healthily, there is a hope that their weight would decrease. Furthermore, they highlighted the fact that childhood obesity needs early identification in order to effectively treat and prevent it.
