Executive Functions Correlated with Body Mass Index in Overweight Middle-Aged Women

摘要

The impacts of excess Body mass index (BMI) on physical health are well known and widely studied, but little is known about the consequences of being overweight or obese on cognitive function. The aim of this study was to correlate the BMI with executive functions in overweight middle- aged women. Seventy overweight middle-aged women between 48 and 64 years of age who are otherwise healthy participated in the study. Demographic and anthropometric variables were evaluated. Four standard neuropsychological tests were applied to assess executive functions, sustained attention, selective attention, and verbal fluency. The mean BMI of the participants was 29.35 and was negatively correlated with categories reached (r = -0.41, p = 0.007) and positively correlated with the number of errors (r = 0.43, p = 0.005) of executive function test. Scores of other neuropsychological tests applied showed no correlation with BMI. These findings suggest that BMI impacts the executive functions in overweight women who do not present any signs of disease.