Being overweight: Unexpected consequences for the brain discovered

Mass index body (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, fat mass were associated with low gray matter volume; a combination of general obesity (BMI >30) and central obesity (waist-to-hip ratio >0.85 for women; >0.90 for men) was associated with the highest risk of gray matter atrophy — Mark Hamer, PhD from Loughborough University in Leicestershire, England, and J. David Batty, PhD from University College London, reported

In the article estet-portal.com you can read in detail the results of a study conducted in the UK, which were published on January 09, 2019

Being overweight is associated with a risk of dementia

9,652 people were studied in this study (mean age about 55 years, 47.9% men). Measurements included BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, and total body fat mass as assessed by bioimpedance; Brain images were obtained using MRI.

The researchers determined that 18.7% of the sample were overweight. These people were less likely to have a college education and be physically active, and also had a higher prevalence of hypertension (31.7%), diabetes (7.2%) and heart disease (4.8%).

After adjusting for covariates including age, sex, physical activity, smoking, hypertension, education, depression, alcohol use, and heart disease, people (n = 1,291) with high BMI and central obesity had the lowest mean gray matter volume in the brain: 786 cm3.

In contrast, normal weight individuals (n = 3025) had a mean gray matter brain volume of 798 cm3, and high BMI individuals without central obesity (n = 514) had a mean gray matter brain volume of 793 cm3.

Higher levels of all measures of obesity were associated with lower gray matter volume.

Participants with diabetes had less gray matter volume than those without the disease. After adjusting for diabetes, the association between BMI and gray matter, and between waist-hip ratio and gray matter was only partially attenuated, by about 6-8%.

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Overweight as a factor in dementia and Parkinson's disease

Obesity was associated with smaller volumes of the caudate nucleus (waist-to-hip ratio only), putamen (only BMI and total fat mass), globus pallidus, and nucleus accumbens (P <0.001).

The study adds to the potential for massive impact being overweight has on brain structure and therefore the risk of age-related brain diseases such as dementia and Parkinson's disease.

This effect has been observed in people who are only 55 years old on average, which makes these findings even more powerful in terms of preventing dementia in middle-aged people.

The study expands on earlier work done in the US by looking at gray matter volume, not just total brain volume, and by evaluating subcortical structures that control mood, motivation, and movement.

Also, a previous study found that people with both hypertension and a high waist-to-hip ratio had the lowest cognitive function.

Lower gray matter volume has been associated with higher levels of all measures of obesity.

Thank you for staying with estet-portal.com. Read other interesting articles in the "Endocrinology" section. You may be interested in What endocrine disorders can cause obesity