The Obese and the Impulsive

You have seen them at Chuck E. Cheese’s: Those large girls, elbowing the other kids out of the way so that they can get that extra piece of pizza—no matter that those large girls have already eaten a couple more slices than most of the other kids.

They are overweight, they are impulsive, and the burden they place on the financial well-being of the health care system will be just as painful as the burden placed on their hips and knees.

Recently published results of a longitudinal study published in the journal “Pediatrics” found that girls with higher impulsivity and poor planning skills were more likely to gain weight, and to become binge eaters once they reach their teens: After accounting for demographics, verbal comprehension, and body mass index (BMI) at age 10, impulsivity and planning scores for girls independently predicted a change in BMI from age 10 to age 16. A separate analysis that controlled for demographics, verbal comprehension, BMI at age 10, and binge-eating tendencies found a relationship between impulsivity scores at age 10 and binge eating tendencies at age 12.

Binge eating tendencies at age 12 mediated the relation between impulsivity at age 10 and changes in BMI from ages 10 to 16.

Well-conducted longitudinal studies can add much to how we approach cause and effect. Any study that provides insight into how this country can control the obesity epidemic contributes to the public health.

It is important to identify early risk factors for adolescent weight gain that could potentially be targeted in future weight gain prevention programs, as pediatric obesity and weight gain are risk factors for adult obesity and associated complications—such as degenerative joint disease of the weight-bearing joints, diabetes, heart disease, and chronic pain. This particular study focused on impulsivity, a component clinicians should also focus on when they encounter their patients for routine wellness check-ups.

If only we could train that child to feel an impulse to eat another apple, and not a bag of chips.

And where is the study on impulsivity and obesity in boys?