Adise and colleagues tie the conditions in which children grow up to their physical condition using data collected from 9- to 12-year-olds. The researchers report that “The NI [immunologic model of self-regulation failure] theory proposes that ADI [area deprivation] causes structural alteration in the brain due to the neuroinflammatory effects of overeating unhealthy foods. The NS [neuronal stress ] theory proposes that ADI-related stress negatively impacts brain structure, which causes stress-related overeating and subsequent obesity. . . . Greater area deprivation may indicate fewer access to resources that support healthy development, like nutritious food and nonstressful environments. Our findings provide evidence in support of the NI and NS theories of overeating, specifically, with greater ADI influencing health outcomes of obesity via brain structure alterations.”
Shana Adise, Andrew Marshall, Eric Kan, Marybel Gonzalez, and Elizabeth Sowell. 2023. “Relating Neighborhood Deprivation to Childhood Obesity in the ABCD Study: Evidence for Theories of Neuroinflamation and Neuronal Stress.” Health Psychology, vol. 42, no. 12, pp. 868-877, https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0001250