Neuroscientists have discovered a link between obesity and brain aging, with overweight and obese people showing cognitive decline more quickly and developing dementia earlier.
Health Data Science magazine indicates that, according to researchers, the higher the body mass index, the smaller the brain size.
Doctors followed for 16 years the case of 1,074 volunteers from Hebei Province in China, aged between 25 and 83 years (average age 55 years). During the years 2006-2022, all of them underwent regular brain examinations using magnetic resonance imaging. During these years, scientists were studying how the microscopic structure of the brain changed.
The doctors focused their attention on the relationship between the change in body mass index, brain structure, and the general health status of the participants. They found that “higher BMI is associated with smaller brain volume, greater white matter damage, and abnormal fiber projection microstructure.” According to researchers to prevent premature brain aging, the body must remain in good shape and their main recommendation is “to improve brain health, people under the age of 45 should maintain a body mass index of less than 26.2 kg/m2.”
How does obesity affect the brain?
Dr. Elvira Fesenko, Associate Professor at the Department of Therapy, Geriatrics and Anti-Aging Medicine at the Academy of Higher Education, explains to aif.ru why obesity can affect the brain.
According to her, there are three reasons:
1 - A decrease in physical activity leads, as a result, to a decrease in the effect of exercins, which are a group of molecules that are produced in the wall of blood vessels by epithelial cells, in the lungs, in the liver, and in adipose tissue and contribute to the positive effects of physical activity.
2- Deterioration of the gut microbiome. The state of your gut bacteria is linked to your brain's condition.
3- Inflammation in the body. Inflammation caused by obesity affects brain structures such as the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, brainstem, and amygdala.
The peripheral inflammation observed in obesity leads to insulin resistance. Neuroinflammation may be the most important cause of cognitive dysfunction and thus may lead to a central pathological mechanism associated with aging.