The results confirmed the presence of a relation between executive functions and overweight/obesity , although the directionality of this relation was not clear ; nor did any single executive function emerge as being more involved than others in this relation .
Despite this , there was evidence of a reciprocal influence between executive functions and overweight/obesity .
Conclusions : This systematic review underlines the presence of a relationship between executive functions and overweight/obesity .
Moreover , it seems to suggest a bidirectional trend in this relationship that could be the cause of the failure of interventions for weight reduction .
Background : The increasing incidence of people affected by overweight or obesity is a significant health problem .
The knowledge of the factors which influences the inappropriate eating behaviors causing excessive body fat is an essential goal for the research .
Overweight and obesity are significant risk factors for many health diseases , such as cardiovascular problems , diabetes .
Recently , many studies have focused on the relationship between body weight and cognitive processes .
Objectives : This systematic review is aim ed to investigate the existence and the nature of the relationship between excessive body weight ( overweight/obesity ) and executive functions , analyzing cross-sectional , and longitudinal studies in order to verify the evidence of a possible causality between these variables .
Prefrontal cortex-mediated executive function as assessed by Stroop task performance associates with weight loss among overweight and obese adolescents and young adults
HighlightsWe present associations of executive function with weight loss among overweight and obese adolescents and young adults . We performed a prospect i ve weight loss study with combination of exercise training and food restriction . Greater executive function correlated with better weight loss . ABSTRACT People with cognitive deficits or executive dysfunction are often overweight or obese . Several human neuroimaging studies have found that executive function ( EF ) predicts food intake and weight gain ; however , fewer studies have investigated the relationship between EF and weight loss . The Stroop task is a classic measure of EF that is used in many neuroimaging studies . In the present work , functional near infrared spectroscopy ( fNIRS ) data were collected during performance of the Stroop task from a sample of overweight or obese adolescents and young adults ( n = 31 ) who participated in a summer fitness and weight loss camp . We assessed the Stroop effect by interference in the reaction time ( RT ) to visual challenges , and by alterations in levels of oxygenated hemoglobin , as detected by fNIRS . In line with previous studies , we found that the Stroop effect was successfully induced by different visual task conditions among obese/overweight individuals . Moreover , our results reveal that better Stroop task performance is correlated with greater weight loss over a4‐weekfitness intervention . Indeed , behavioral data demonstrated that reduced RT interference predicted a greater percentage of weight loss . Moreover , overweight/obese individuals with a greater hemodynamic response in the left ventrolateral and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex due to the Stroop effect lost more weight during the short‐term fitness intervention than participants with lower levels of activation of these neural regions . Overall , our results support a role for prefrontal cortex‐mediated EF in influencing food intake and weight loss outcomes in a population of a previously unstudied age
The results confirmed the presence of a relation between executive functions and overweight/obesity , although the directionality of this relation was not clear ; nor did any single executive function emerge as being more involved than others in this relation .
Despite this , there was evidence of a reciprocal influence between executive functions and overweight/obesity .
Conclusions : This systematic review underlines the presence of a relationship between executive functions and overweight/obesity .
Moreover , it seems to suggest a bidirectional trend in this relationship that could be the cause of the failure of interventions for weight reduction .
Background : The increasing incidence of people affected by overweight or obesity is a significant health problem .
The knowledge of the factors which influences the inappropriate eating behaviors causing excessive body fat is an essential goal for the research .
Overweight and obesity are significant risk factors for many health diseases , such as cardiovascular problems , diabetes .
Recently , many studies have focused on the relationship between body weight and cognitive processes .
Objectives : This systematic review is aim ed to investigate the existence and the nature of the relationship between excessive body weight ( overweight/obesity ) and executive functions , analyzing cross-sectional , and longitudinal studies in order to verify the evidence of a possible causality between these variables .