ArticlePediatric obesity2022
Longitudinal associations between executive control and body mass index across childhood.
Article in Pediatric obesity, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Effects of obesity on brain health and cognition.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2026Review
- Body weight and attentional capture in children.Experimental brain research · 2025Article
- Neurocognitive factors predicting BMI changes from adolescence to young adulthood.Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2024Article
- Executive function differences as a function of parent-reported binge eating and weight: Results from the adolescent brain cognitive development study.Obesity science & practice · 2024Article
- Contextualizing the Neural Vulnerabilities Model of Obesity.Nutrients · 2023Review
- Associations between waist circumference and executive function among Chinese Tibetan adolescents living at high altitude.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundChildhood obesity remains a prevalent public health concern. Executive control, a set of higher-order cognitive abilities for directing attention and behaviour, has been identified as a malleable factor potentially related to weight outcomes in youth. However, the directionality of this relationship remains unclear.
objectivesThis study examined reciprocal associations between three executive control components-inhibitory control, working memory and flexible shifting-and BMI (body mass index) percentile during childhood.
methodsAt four points throughout elementary school, a community sample (N = 294) completed executive control tasks and had their height and weight objectively measured. Controlling for sex and socioeconomic risk status, random intercept cross-lagged panel models were tested.
resultsBetter inhibitory control performance predicted lower subsequent BMI at each timepoint, and better working memory and flexible shifting performance in grade three both predicted lower subsequent BMI in grade 4. However, BMI did not predict subsequent executive control performance at any timepoint.
conclusionsExecutive control abilities, including automatic response modulation, being able to hold and manipulate mental information, and being able to make flexible mental transitions, may be protective against weight problems, particularly in middle childhood when these abilities have had more time to mature and children begin to gain more independence.
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Registered trials
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