Background: The prevalence of overweight and obesity in school children between 10-18 years old in Khartoum state in Sudan in 2010, was 10.8% and 9.7% respectively [1]. Obesity is a major risk factor of many health problems. Recently, researchers suggested that increased adiposity is associated with poor cognitive performance, independently of associated medical conditions [2]. This study aims to investigate the effect of obesity on cognitive function in primary school children.
Methods: This is a descriptive, cross sectional study that included 290 primary school children (150 boys and 140 girls) between 9 and 14 years old. Participants were chosen for the study using stratified multistage random sample technique from two of the biggest primary public schools in Omdurman city. Brief medical history was taken and general examination was done to exclude any abnormalities. Blood pressure (BP), weight and height were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Students were classified according to WHO BMI chart percentiles 2007 into: underweight (< 3rd), normal weight (≥3rd-< 85th), over weight (≥ 85th- < 97th), and obese (≥ 97th). Cognitive function was assessed using Mini-Mental State Examination Test (MMSE) [3].
Results: Results of the study showed that 15.51% (n= 45) of students were obese and 17.93% (n= 52) were overweight. The mean BMI was 18.95 ± 4.68 kg/m². BMI showed insignificant difference between the three socioeconomic status (P=0.538). Mild cognitive impairment was detected in 9.3% (n=27) of students, 0.7% (n=2) has moderate cognitive impairment. Only 2 out of the 45 (4.4%) obese students had mild cognitive impairment, and one (2.2%) had moderate cognitive impairment. The association between cognitive impairment and BMI was insignificant (P=0.098). Mother’s education showed a significant positive association with language and praxis (P=0.027). Whereas father’s educational level had correlated positively with orientation (P =0.001) and with MMSE test results (P =0.037).
Conclusion: Obesity seems to have insignificant effect on cognitive function in obese school children. Parent’s educational background has a major effect on their children’s cognition.