Widening Waistlines and Shrinking Brains

A young person once asked me, "So can obesity make me less intelligent?" Interesting viewpoint. But, it may be something that's worth looking into. Here's what I found...

Recent research through Human Brain Mapping has demonstrated that the brains of overweight and obese people looked older (less brain tissue) than their healthy counterparts. The research by UCLA neuroscientist Paul Thompson found that the brains of obese people (BMI >35) looked 16 years older than their healthy counterparts, and those overweight (BMI > 30), looked 8 years older.

We have all seen the connection of obesity to diabetes, cancers, and heart disease. Obesity affects every system in our bodies. The bottom line is that the obese and sedentary person is going to have a breakdown of every organ system, and that includes "The Brain"! A greater chance of impotency and infertility are other things that people don't generally think are directly related.

These findings seem to explain why heavier people often are more prone to cognitive (memory,judgement,perception) problems. We are all trying to protect our bodies and brains from aging, and this is just one factor that's speeding it up on top of all the other factors such as pollution, smoking, and alcohol. We all lose some brain tissue as we get older. All these things may be accelerating the process.

Can the right food, or natural chemicals that they contain help you concentrate and improve memory? Fatty acids, or Omega-3s, are the major fat found in fish, canola and walnut oil. They are important in preserving the outer membranes of brain cells. There are other foods and supplements with higher concentrations of these fats. We don't know yet if diets rich in Omega-3s can reverse the normal aging process.

Bring on the Brain Food!

Dr. K