Reaction time: does it relate to weight status in children?

Abstract

It has been recently reported that reaction time (RT) is related to weight status [measured by body mass index (BMI)] in young, adult and older people. However, there is little evidence for children, and the similar studies included small sample of participants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between a new RT test and weight status among a sample of 7-11 year old schoolboys. Therefore, 533 apparently healthy schoolboys underwent clinical reaction time (RT clin) measurements and standard anthropometry. Participants according to different obesity indices [waist circumference (WC), waist to height ratio (WHtR), BMI and fat%] were assigned to different weight status categories. Results indicated that time of RT clin decreased as age of the boys increased (F=63; P<0.01). No significant difference was observed for RT clin among the BMI, WC, WHtR and fat% categories after controlling for age (P>0.05). In conclusion, it seems that there is no relationship between simple RT (measured by RT clin) and weight status in the boys. Additional studies for finding relationship between RT and weight status are needed by including larger samples of participants, various age groups and various RT tests.