Aims: Compare the cognitive and motor development in overweight/obese infants versus normal-weight peers and investigate the correlation of body weight, body length and body mass index with cognitive and motor development.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 28 overweight/obese infants and 28 normal-weight peers between 6 and 24 months of age. Both groups were evaluated with cognitive and motor scales of the Bayley-III infant development test. The t-test for independent samples was performed to compare the groups, and the Spearman correlation was used to verify the association between variables.
Results: Overweight/obese infants showed lower cognitive and motor composite scores than their normal-weight peers. A significant negative association was found of body weight and body length with cognitive development and of body mass index with motor development.
Conclusion: This is the first study that found an effect on both cognitive and motor development in overweight/obese infants when compared with normal-weight peers between 6 and 24 months of age.
Keywords: Child development; Cognition; Infant; Motor skills; Obesity; Overweight.
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