Childhood Obesity and Cognitive Control - Essay Example

Child Obesity and Cognitive Control al Affiliation) Child Obesity and Cognitive Control The study aimed at providing insight into the negative relationship between cognitive control and childhood obesity (Kamijo, 2012). There has been scarce research about the relationship between cognitive and obesity using measures of action through behavioral and neuroelectric in pre-adolescent children. The minimal research conducted is attributable to the low numbers of obese children. Both ‘healthy’ and obese children undertook incompatible and compatible stimulus response of a particular task.

The assessment was done on the task performance to note the difference. The research indicated that obese children took longer for an incompatible task compared to the normal healthy weight children. There was no difference based on a compatible condition. In addition, obese children exhibited smaller error related negativity (ERN) amplitude compared to healthy weight children who have a lower post-error accuracy in response. The results suggested in the article were that childhood obesity is linked with a reduced ability to adjust the cognitive direct network that aids action monitoring.

Cognitive control means the ability to coordinate thought and action in harmony with internal goals. The researcher was keen to determine the link between cognitive control and childhood obesity that has remained inconclusive. There has been minimal study done by researchers on this particular topic. Based on the current global epidemic, obesity in children needs further investigation to prove whether obesity has a link with cognitive control. It is evident, from the study, that childhood obesity is inversely associated with cognitive control.

Conversely, not all studies have consistently shown an association linking poorer cognitive control and childhood obesity. The present study focused on an altered feature of cognitive control that had not been previously investigated, to give insight into the relationship between childhood obesity to brain health and cognition. Developmental studies indicate that pre-adolescent children demonstrate similar post-error reaction slowing as young adults and adolescent children. As such, it is significant that this behavioral measure of action supervision may not be responsive enough to detect delicate developmental effects.

Therefore, an additional neuroelectric measure, error related negativity, may result in gaining understanding on the relationship between cognitive control and childhood obesity. Based on previous research, it is clear that scholars approved that the relationship existed, but there was failure to recognize neuro-electric measure and error related negativity. Developmental studies have repeatedly demonstrated that ERN amplitude enhances with age. Scholars explain that ERN amplitude reflect less efficient action monitoring during the childhood phase.

The present findings propose that healthy weight children can handle cognitive control to maintain task presentation in the incompatible circumstance, whereas obese children established less ability to adjust cognitive control to convene the increased task demands. Conflicting with a prior predictions, intended comparisons showed that obese children had lesser ERN amplitude comparative to healthy weight children for the compatible condition; a result not in the incompatible condition. This study is in agreement with previous findings, indicating that the negative association between weight status and academic achievement.

Based on the cross-sectional design utilized in the report, the existing findings do not essentially entail that childhood obesity can affect cognitive control negatively. Contemporary studies indicate that inferior cognitive control can be one of the risk factor in the increase in BMI, signifying bidirectional relations between cognitive control and weight status in children (Kamijo, 2012).ReferenceKamijo, K. (2012). The Negative Association of Childhood Obesity to Cognitive Control of Action Monitoring Urbana, IL: Advance Access publication