Nutrition and Cognitive Function in Preadolescents

Nutrition and Cognitive Function in Preadolescents

This study is designed to evaluate cognitive function in preadolescents who have different body mass indexes.

The investigators plan to document differences between normal weight and obese preadolescents on psychological and neurocognitive measures of executive function controlling for factors known to influence brain function and behavior not considered in previous studies.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Normal weight (BMI: <85th percentile) or obese (BMI: >95th percentile)
• Right hand dominance
• Report eating breakfast at least 4 days/week
• Able to hear at least 20 dB stimulus
• Visual acuity must be at least 20/40
• Arithmetic Computation Task
• Biological mother available to attend the enrollment study visit

Exclusion Criteria:

• Full Scale IQ <80
• Children taking medications or having chronic illnesses/disorders that may independently affect study outcome measures (as determined by the PI)