MedWire News: Children who have poor physical control and coordination are more likely to become obese in later life than other children, study findings suggest.
Obesity in adulthood is associated with a variety of diseases and conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Previous studies have also shown that obesity in adults is associated with poor mental abilities, called cognitive function, and an increased risk of dementia, explain Dr Walter Osika and Professor Scott Montgomery from Örebro University Hospital in Sweden.
They add: "Obese adults and those with adult onset type 2 diabetes mellitus may already have lower levels of cognitive function in childhood... Therefore, pathways to impaired cognitive function in these groups may begin much earlier in life than was previously thought."
To investigate, the researchers studied data on more than 11,000 people enrolled in the ongoing National Child Development Study in Great Britain, which began in 1958.
At the age of 7 years, 7990 of the participants were assessed for hand control, coordination and clumsiness, and these tests were repeated at the age of 11 years in 6875 participants.
Tests included copying a simple design to measure accuracy, marking squares on paper within a minute, and the time in seconds it took to pick up 20 matches.
The researchers assessed each participants' body mass index at the age of 33 years to identify all those who had become obese, defined as a body mass index of 33 kg/m2 or higher.
Analysis showed that participants who had poor hand control and coordination, and clumsiness at the age of 7 years were significantly more likely to be obese by the age of 33 years than other participants.
Indeed, poor hand control at this age was associated with a 1.6-fold increased risk of obesity in later life, while poor coordination was associated with a 2.3-fold increased risk and clumsiness was associated with nearly a 4-fold increased risk of obesity in later life.
Poor hand control and coordination, and clumsiness at the age of 11 years were also associated with an increased risk of obesity at the age of 33 years.
Writing in the journal Psychological Medicine, the researchers conclude: "Some aspects of poorer neurological function associated with adult obesity may have their origins in childhood."
They add: "Some early life exposures [such as maternal smoking during pregnancy] or personal characteristics may impair the development of physical control and coordination, as well as increasing the risk of obesity in later life."