RESUMEN
Overweight and obesity are major public health issues worldwide, including in Mexico, particularly among adolescents. This study aimed to analyze the associations between nutritional status and impaired executive function (EF) in Mexican adolescents. A case-control study was conducted with 98 male and female adolescents, categorized into normal weight and overweight/obese groups based on body mass index. EF was assessed using the BANFE-2 test. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 54.3%. The EF assessment revealed that 82.45% of the overweight/obese group exhibited mild-to-severe impairment, compared to only 36.58% in the normal weight group (X2 = 21.69, p < 0.0001). In the inhibitory control assessment, adolescents with overweight and obesity performed worse than their normal-weight counterparts. Specifically, females with overweight/obesity scored lower than females with normal weight on the risk-benefit processing test. The risk of severe EF impairment significantly increased with the presence of overweight/obesity (OR = 7.8, p < 0.0001). These findings indicate that EF, particularly inhibitory control and risk-benefit processing, is impaired in adolescents with overweight or obesity.
RESUMEN
Consensus has been reached that symptoms of depression can begin as early as preschool. Nevertheless, only few studies have associated environmental (malnutrition) and social factors (poverty condition, access to health systems, etc.) to the onset of depression in preschoolers. The aim of this study was to explore possible associations between malnutrition (underweight, overweight/obesity), poverty status (home quality, overcrowding), access to healthcare systems and the presence of depressive symptoms in the preschoolers of a semi-rural community. In total, 695 children between 3 and 6 years from the municipality of Chiconcuac, Mexico were evaluated for symptoms of depression with the Preschool Depression Scale for Teachers (ESDM 3-6). Additionally, they were assessed for nutritional status and divided into three groups (low weight, normal weight, overweight/obesity), and their parents were asked to fill out a social demographic questionnaire. Malnutrition status OR = 2.702, 95% CI [1.771-4.145]; UW OR = 4.768, 95% CI [2.570-8.795] and OW/OB OR = 1.959, 95% CI [1.175-3.324]; poverty condition per se OR = 1.779, 95% CI [0.9911-2.630]; housing quality OR = 2.020, 95% CI [0.9606-2.659] and overcrowding = 1.619, 95% CI [0.8989-4.433] were associated to a greater risk for children to show depressive symptoms (DS). Access to healthcare was negatively related with the risk of presenting DS (OR = 0.660, 95% CI [0.3130 to 1.360]). Social and environmental factors such as malnutrition, home quality and overcrowding may increase the risk of presenting DS as soon as in preschool.