American scientists arrived at a distressing conclusion that the brain of overweight individuals starts to deteriorate when they reach the age of 40, as is revealed in a study recently published in the Health magazine.
The research involved volunteers in the age range from 40 to 60 years old. They were divided into three groups according to their weight (normal, overweight, obese) and asked to solve a number of complex problems. The activeness of their brains was gauged by means of magnetic-resonance imaging.
The results of the solutions showed little difference in the participants of all the three groups, but the MR-imaging indicated a decreased functionality of the so-called lower parietal lobe in the members of the obese group. The scientists say that the gray matter of obese people reacts to the set tasks differently than that of people with normal body weight.
Furthermore, the level of brain atrophy is directly linked to the Body Mass Index. The researchers also point out that an overweight individual has atrophy of the cerebral tissue developing in several areas at once – the frontal lobe, the hippocampus, the frontal callosal convolution, etc. In comparison with people with normal weight these brain areas have 8% less volume.
Besides, as emerged from other scientific researches, obesity increases the risk of developing feeble-mindedness with age, the Health reports.
Source of the image: Photl.
