Why the study?
Soft neurological signs are subtle indicators detected during neurological examination without an overt neurological disorder, and this study aimed to investigate their presence in obese children.
Does obesity increase the presence of soft neurological signs in children?
Does obesity increase the presence of soft neurological signs in children?
Obese children exhibit significantly more soft neurological signs compared to healthy controls, suggesting potential early neurodevelopmental changes associated with obesity.
Obese children exhibit higher SNS scores; hypothesis-generating for neurodevelopmental associations and requires prospective validation before screening implications.
Objective: Soft neurological signs (SNS) are subtle indicators detected during neurological examination in the absence of an overt neurological disorder. This study aimed to investigate the presence of SNS in obese children. Methods: A total of 61 obese children and 57 healthy controls (HCs) were evaluated using the Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES) to assess the presence of SNS. Results: There were no significant differences between the obese and HC groups regarding age and sex (p>0.05). The sensory integration, motor coordination, complex sequential motor acts, other NES, and total NES scores were significantly higher in the obese group compared with HCs (p=0.005, p=0.009, p=0.004, p=0.002, and <0.001, respectively). Conclusion: This is the first study to demonstrate a significant presence of SNS in obese children using the NES. Incorporating SNS assessment into routine obesity evaluations may help identify children at risk for early neurodevelopmental changes.
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Doğanç et al. (2026) studied this question.
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