Associations of Ultra‐Processed Foods and Executive Function in Children With Obesity and Their Parents: A Cross‐Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are linked to obesity and cognitive decline, but evidence on their association with executive function (EF) in children is limited. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the UPFs-EF relationship in parent-child dyads with obesity seeking treatment. METHODS: Secondary analysis of the FRESH trial (NCT01197443) conducted at the University of California, San Diego. A total of 141 Parent-child dyads; parent age = 43 years (6.6), BMI = 32 (6.4); child age = 9.9 years (1.3), BMIz = 2.0 (0.3); 31% Hispanic, 44% White, 25% other completed anthropometric, digit span backward (DSB), stop signal task (SST) and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and dietary assessments. Linear regression models evaluated UPFs-EF associations, controlling for covariates. RESULTS: Parent-child associations were observed for energy β = 0.15, p = 0.024; total UPFs β = 0.20, p = 0.018; savoury snacks β = 0.28, p = 0.018; ultra-processed (UP) meat, β = 0.60, p < 0.001; and sweetened beverages β = 0.24, p = 0.023. Most UPFs-EF associations were null. In children, UP meat predicted lower DSB scores (β = -0.104, 95% CI [-0.197, -0.013], p = 0.013), and in parents, sweetened beverages predicted failed SST (β = 0.606, 95% CI [0.018, 1.210], p = 0.044). CONCLUSIONS: There were a few associations between UPFs intake and EF; however, most were nonsignificant. Future research should involve community samples and children across the weight spectrum.