Association of Sedentary Behavior with Brain Structure and Intelligence in Children with Overweight or Obesity: The ActiveBrains Project

PROFITH “PROmoting FITness and Health Through Physical Activity” Research Group, Sport and Health University Research Institute (iMUDS), Department of Physical and Sports Education, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

Faculty of Education and Social Sciences, Universidad Andres Bello, Viña del Mar 2531015, Chile

IRyS Research Group, School of Physical Education, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaiso, 2374631 Valparaiso, Chile

⁴

College of Health and Human Services, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28262, USA

⁵

MOVE-IT Research Group and Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education Sciences University of Cádiz, 11519 Cádiz, Spain

⁶

Biomedical Research and Innovation Institute of Cádiz (INiBICA) Research Unit, Puerta del Mar University Hospital University of Cádiz, 11009 Cádiz, Spain

⁷

Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven – University of Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium

⁸

Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

⁹

Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience (UCM-UPM), Center for Biomedical Technology (CTB), Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223 Madrid, Spain

¹⁰

Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA

¹¹

Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61821, USA

¹²

Department of Physical Therapy, Movement & Rehabilitation Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA

¹³

Brain Aging & Cognitive Health Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, 3601 Sennott Square, Pittsburgh, PA 15218, USA

¹⁴

Department of Experimental Psychology, Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Centre (CIMCYC), University of Granada, 18011 Granada, Spain

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9(4), 1101; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9041101

Received: 24 February 2020 / Revised: 30 March 2020 / Accepted: 9 April 2020 / Published: 12 April 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Lifestyle Factors and Exercise on Brain Plasticity and Underlying Neurobiological Mechanisms)

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Abstract

We investigated the associations of different sedentary behaviors (SB) with gray matter volume and we tested whether SB related to gray matter volume is associated with intelligence. Methods: 99 children with overweight or obesity aged 8–11 years participated in this cross-sectional study. SB was measured using the Youth Activity Profile-Spain questionnaire. T1-weighted images were acquired with a 3.0 T Magnetom Tim Trio system. Intelligence was assessed with the Kaufman Brief Test. Whole-brain voxel-wise multiple regression models were used to test the associations of each SB with gray matter volume. Results: Watching TV was associated with lower gray matter volume in six brain regions (β ranging −0.314 to −0.489 and cluster size 106 to 323 voxels; p < 0.001), playing video games in three brain regions (β ranging −0.391 to −0.359, and cluster size 96 to 461 voxels; p < 0.001) and total sedentary time in two brain regions (β ranging −0.341 to −0.352, and cluster size 897 to 2455 voxels; p < 0.001). No brain regions showed a significant positive association (all p > 0.05). Two brain regions were related, or borderline related, to intelligence. Conclusions: SB could have the potential to negatively influence brain structure and, in turn, intelligence in children with overweight/obesity. View Full-Text

Keywords: sedentariness; TV viewing; magnetic resonance imaging; brain; cognition; childhood; obesity

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zavala-Crichton, J.P.; Esteban-Cornejo, I.; Solis-Urra, P.; Mora-Gonzalez, J.; Cadenas-Sanchez, C.; Rodriguez-Ayllon, M.; Migueles, J.H.; Molina-Garcia, P.; Verdejo-Roman, J.; Kramer, A.F.; Hillman, C.H.; Erickson, K.I.; Catena, A.; Ortega, F.B. Association of Sedentary Behavior with Brain Structure and Intelligence in Children with Overweight or Obesity: The ActiveBrains Project. J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9, 1101. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9041101

AMA Style

Zavala-Crichton JP, Esteban-Cornejo I, Solis-Urra P, Mora-Gonzalez J, Cadenas-Sanchez C, Rodriguez-Ayllon M, Migueles JH, Molina-Garcia P, Verdejo-Roman J, Kramer AF, Hillman CH, Erickson KI, Catena A, Ortega FB. Association of Sedentary Behavior with Brain Structure and Intelligence in Children with Overweight or Obesity: The ActiveBrains Project. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2020; 9(4):1101. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9041101

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zavala-Crichton, Juan P., Irene Esteban-Cornejo, Patricio Solis-Urra, José Mora-Gonzalez, Cristina Cadenas-Sanchez, María Rodriguez-Ayllon, Jairo H. Migueles, Pablo Molina-Garcia, Juan Verdejo-Roman, Arthur F. Kramer, Charles H. Hillman, Kirk I. Erickson, Andrés Catena, and Francisco B. Ortega 2020. "Association of Sedentary Behavior with Brain Structure and Intelligence in Children with Overweight or Obesity: The ActiveBrains Project" Journal of Clinical Medicine 9, no. 4: 1101. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9041101

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Association of Sedentary Behavior with Brain Structure and Intelligence in Children with Overweight or Obesity: The ActiveBrains Project

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