A study from the Medical University of South Carolina found a link between adolescent obesity and decreased learning. And because teens are still in the development stage, losing weight can at least stop the trend and possibly even reverse it to some degree.

A decline in learning, as evidenced by IQ test scores, is due to a condition known as adolescent sleep apnea. Like adults, obese children with this condition stop breathing while they sleep. While each episode may only last up to 10 seconds, it can occur hundreds of times each night in a child with this condition.

Studies have found that the decline in learning is due to two results of cessation of breathing: a lack of oxygen to the brain and a lack of quality sleep. When the child is not breathing, oxygen does not reach the lungs, it enters the bloodstream and is distributed to the brain. With a lack of oxygen over time, injury to existing brain tissue can occur and affect later brain development. The cause of sleep apnea can be excess fat in the throat or enlarged tonsils that obstruct the airway.

With a child who wakes up hundreds of times each night, they are not sleeping well even though they may be getting the right amount of sleep. This further affects their learning performance because they go to school tired the next day and cannot focus on learning.

And then there is the emotional side of learning. Social distress also affects learning in obese adolescents. Because obese children “don’t fit in,” normal-weight children tend to tease, tease, or even bully them. This constant taunting causes immeasurable emotional problems, of which decreased learning is just one. With low self-esteem and self-worth constantly dogging them, focusing on learning in school is the furthest thing from their minds. Many cannot take any more ostracism from their peers and end up taking their own lives.

The researchers found that the decline in learning can start as early as kindergarten and appears to be more common in girls than in boys. They also found that obese teens are less likely to attend any type of post-secondary education. And it all starts with being an obese child.

If you have an obese teen, help them relearn by finding a diet and exercise program approved by your child’s health care professional. Be a part of ending the emotional stress and failing grades caused by your child’s obesity. Get them to actively learn again.