Abstract
PURPOSE: This study investigated the transient effects of an acute bout of aerobic exercise and excess body mass on cognitive and brain function in preadolescent children. METHODS: Thirty-nine children (8-10yrs; 16 females) completed baseline and demographic questionnaires, and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and VO2max tests. Children were randomly allocated into a within-subjects crossover intervention design including 20-minutes of restful reading and 20-minutes of treadmill walking. Children completed post-intervention cognitive tasks that tap inhibition (Go-NoGo, flanker) with EEG (P3-ERP), and standardized tests of academic achievement in reading and math. SUMMARY OF RESULTS: Following the treadmill walking intervention, children of normal weight (NW) demonstrated improved response accuracy (p≤0.05), shorter reaction times (p≤0.05), and larger P3-ERP amplitudes (p≤0.05) during the Go task, relative to children with obesity (OB). Additionally, after the walking intervention, NW children demonstrated a trend for larger P3 amplitude (p=0.068) during the NoGo task. NW children also demonstrated shorter reaction times (p=.041), and reduced perceptual interference (p=0.039) compared to OB children during the flanker task. Lastly, NW children demonstrated improved performance on academic achievement tests of reading and math after the walking intervention, compared to OB children (p≤0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that the beneficial effects following an acute bout of aerobic exercise on cognitive and brain function may be attenuated in children with obesity. These results provide evidence indicating that neuroelectric and behavioural indices of attention, inhibition, and academic achievement are influenced by aerobic exercise and body mass in children. Given that childhood obesity is a public health concern with an array of health complications, these results have important implications for the physical and cognitive health of children. Grant Funding: Supported by NIH Grant R01 HD094054
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