We all know that gazillions of studies have confirmed the corporeal ills obesity can inflict on a person. But now, researchers from Canada’s McMaster University have found hard evidence that excess body fat can also lead to reduced thinking and memory abilities…
How many times have you looked at someone like our Obesity Poster Girl (above) and
thought, “A person has to be totally stupid to let themselves get like that!” Now,
researchers think it may be ‘getting like that’ that makes one stupid…
For the first time, researchers have conducted a study that took all possible variables into account. And after factoring in cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes or high blood pressure, or vascular brain injury, an association between body fat and lower cognitive scores remained.
What they did
The test subjects spanned an age range of 30 to 75 with an average age of about 58. Just over 56 percent were women. The majority were of White European origin, with about 16 percent other ethnic backgrounds. Individuals with known cardiovascular disease were excluded. More than 9 ,000 subjects were included in the program.
Participants were measured by advanced bioelectrical impedance analysis to assess their total body fat. As well, 6,733 underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure abdominal fat packed around the organs, known as visceral fat. The MRI also assessed vascular brain injury – areas in the brain affected by reduced blood flow to the brain (atherosclerosis).
What they found
Study lead author Dr. Sonia Anand says, “Our results suggest that strategies to prevent or reduce having too much body fat may preserve cognitive function. […] The effect of increased body fat persisted even after adjusting for its effect on increasing cardiovascular risk factors like diabetes and high blood pressure, as well as vascular brain injury, which should prompt researchers to investigate which other pathways may link excess fat to reduced cognitive function.”
The takeaway
Study co-author Dr. Eric Smith observes that, “preserving cognitive function is one of the best ways to prevent dementia in old age. This study suggests that one of the ways that good nutrition and physical activity prevent dementia may be by maintaining healthy weight and body fat percentage.”
My take
I’ve long believed that being overweight – and even more so when one is outright obese – affects one’s cognitive abilities significantly. I’ve noted that some fat people are just ‘slower’ than the rest of us – in every way.
Here’s a totally unscientific but telling observation that illustrates the point. Answer: “The last time you saw an overweight contestant on Jeopardy.” Question: “What is ‘never’?” It’s like they just don’t make it through the qualifying process. Maybe they don’t even try, somehow knowing or sensing they wouldn’t make it to the show, anyway. I don’t know. Just saying…
~ Maggie J.