Paediatric obesity and brain functioning: The role of physical activity-A novel and important expert opinion of the European Childhood Obesity Group

Irene Esteban-Cornejo; John Reilly; Francisco B Ortega; Pawel Matusik; Artur Mazur; Eva Erhardt; Anders Forslund; Elpis Athina Vlachopapadopoulou; Margherita Caroli; Emma Boyland; Daniel Weghuber; David Thivel

doi:10.1111/ijpo.12649

Paediatric obesity and brain functioning: The role of physical activity-A novel and important expert opinion of the European Childhood Obesity Group

Pediatr Obes. 2020 Sep;15(9):e12649. doi: 10.1111/ijpo.12649. Epub 2020 May 27.

Authors

Irene Esteban-Cornejo¹, John Reilly², Francisco B Ortega¹, Pawel Matusik³, Artur Mazur^{4

5}, Eva Erhardt^{5

6}, Anders Forslund^{5

7}, Elpis Athina Vlachopapadopoulou^{5

8}, Margherita Caroli^{5

9}, Emma Boyland^{5

10}, Daniel Weghuber^{5

11

12}, David Thivel^{5

13

14}

Affiliations

¹ PROFITH "PROmoting FITness and Health Through Physical Activity" Research Group, Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
² School of Psychological Sciences & Health, Physical Activity for Health Group, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK.
³ School of Medicine in Katowice, Department of Pediatrics and Pediatric Endocrinology, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.
⁴ Pediatric Department, Clinical Provincial Hospital No. 2 in Rzeszów, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rzeszów, Rzeszów, Poland.
⁵ European Childhood Obesity Group, Brussels, Belgium.
⁶ Department of Paediatrics, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary.
⁷ Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
⁸ Department of Endocrinology, Children's Hosp. P. & A. Kyriakou, Athens, Greece.
⁹ Paediatric Department, Brindisi Hospital, Brindisi, Italy.
¹⁰ Appetite & Obesity Research Group, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
¹¹ Department of Pediatrics, Paracelsus Medical University, Austria, Salzburg.
¹² Obesity Research Unit, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
¹³ Laboratory of the Metabolic Adaptations to Exercise under Physiological and Pathological Conditions, Clermont Auvergne University, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
¹⁴ Auvergne Regional Center for Human Nutrition, Clermont-Ferrand, France.

PMID: 32459068
DOI: 10.1111/ijpo.12649

Abstract

While most of the time unconsidered, child and adolescent obesity has been also associated with impaired brain health and function that can definitely affect their social interaction and integration, and then well-being and mental health. The European Childhood Obesity Group recently gathered experts in the field who discussed the main available and reliable evidence regarding the role of physical activity on brain health and cognitive functioning in children and adolescents with obesity and who propose here their main conclusions and recommendations.

Keywords: brain health; cognitive function; paediatric obesity; physical activity.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Brain / physiopathology*
Child
Cognition / physiology
Europe
Exercise / physiology*
Expert Testimony
Humans
Pediatric Obesity / physiopathology*