Childhood Obesity and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Exploring Inflammatory and Metabolic Pathways
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59890/ijnhs.v4i4.16Keywords:
Childhood Obesity, Neurodevelopmental Outcomes, Inflammatory Pathway, Metabolic Dysfunction, Structural Equation ModelingAbstract
Childhood obesity is a global health problem related to metabolic disorders and changes in brain developmental function through inflammatory mechanisms and metabolic dysregulation. This study aims to analyze the relationship between childhood obesity and neurodevelopmental outcomes and evaluate the role of inflammatory and metabolic pathways as mediators in these relationships. This study uses an analytical observational design with a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach on 300 children aged 6–12 years. Data were collected through anthropometric measurements (BMI-for-age Z-score, waist circumference, and body fat percentage), examination of inflammatory biomarkers (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-1β), metabolic biomarkers (glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, leptin, adiponectine, and lipid profile), and neurodevelopmental assessments covering cognitive, executive, attention, memory, behavioral, and motor functions. The analysis was conducted through the evaluation of measurement models, structural models, and testing of mediating effects using the bootstrapping method. The research model showed that the increase in childhood obesity was related to changes in inflammatory and metabolic pathways which were subsequently related to neurodevelopmental outcomes. These findings provide an understanding of the biological mechanisms that link childhood adiposity to neurocognitive development and support the development of early detection strategies and multidimensional interventions in children at risk of obesity
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