Visceral Adiposity and Diet Quality Are Differentially Associated With Cognitive Abilities and Early Academic Skills Among Preschool-Age Children

Naiman A Khan; Corinne Cannavale; Samantha Iwinski; Ruyu Liu; Gabriella M McLoughlin; Linda G Steinberg; Anne M Walk

doi:10.3389/fped.2019.00548

Visceral Adiposity and Diet Quality Are Differentially Associated With Cognitive Abilities and Early Academic Skills Among Preschool-Age Children

Front Pediatr. 2020 Jan 14:7:548. doi: 10.3389/fped.2019.00548. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Naiman A Khan^{1

2

3}, Corinne Cannavale², Samantha Iwinski⁴, Ruyu Liu³, Gabriella M McLoughlin⁵, Linda G Steinberg¹, Anne M Walk⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, United States.
² Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, United States.
³ Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, United States.
⁴ Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, United States.
⁵ Department of Kinesiology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, United States.
⁶ Department of Psychology, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL, United States.

Abstract

Background: Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and diet quality influence cognitive health in preadolescents; however, these relationships remain understudied among preschool-age children. Objectives: Investigate the relationship between VAT, diet quality, academic skills, and cognitive abilities among preschool-age children. Methods: Children between 4 and 5 years (N = 57) were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Woodcock Johnson Early Cognitive and Academic Development Test (ECAD™) was utilized to assess General Intellectual Ability, Early Academic Skills, and Expressive Language. DXA was used to assess VAT. Diet quality was measured using the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) based on 7-day food records. Results: Greater VAT was associated with poorer Early Academic Skills (r = -0.28, P = 0.03) whereas a diet pattern that included Fatty Acids, Whole Grains, Saturated Fats, Seafood and Plant Proteins, Total Vegetables, and Dairy was positively associated with General Intellectual Ability (r = 0.26, P = 0.04). Conclusions: Higher VAT is negatively related to Early Academic Skills whereas diet quality was positively and selectively related to intellectual abilities among preschool-age children. These findings indicate that the negative impact of abdominal adiposity on academic skills is evident as early as preschool-age while providing preliminary support for the potentially beneficial role of diet quality on cognitive abilities in early childhood.

Keywords: abdominal obesity; childhood; intelligence; neuropsychology; nutrition.