Are obese children as smart as their leaner peers? Find out

A new study finds that obese kids with lesser aerobic fitness are as smart as their leaner peers. The researchers analysed associations of fitness, motor competence and adiposity with cognition and the researchers - from the University of Eastern Finland - showed that children with various levels of aerobic fitness or body fat percentage did not differ in cognition.

They also found that boys with higher aerobic fitness at the baseline of the study had poorer cognition during the two-year follow-up than those with lower fitness, making clear that body fat percentage and cognition do not go hand-in-hand. "It is important to remember that these results do not necessarily reflect a casual relation between motor skills and cognition," said Eero Haapala, Postdoctoral Researcher from the varsity. "Boys with poorer motor and cognitive skills caught up with their more skilful peers during the two-year follow-up," Haapala added.

It would be premature to claim that motor skills boost cognition even though studies suggest that motor skills and cognition are associated with one another.
The study has been published in the journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.