In a new study, researchers found as a person’s weight goes up, all regions of the brain go down in activity and blood flow.
They found that being overweight or obese seriously impacts brain activity and increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease as well as many other psychiatric and cognitive conditions.
The research was conducted by a team at Amen Clinics.
Low cerebral blood flow is the #1 brain imaging predictor that a person will develop Alzheimer’s disease.
It is also linked to depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury, addiction, suicide, and other conditions.
One of the largest studies linking obesity with brain dysfunction, the scientists analyzed over 35,000 functional neuroimaging scans from more than 17,000 individuals to measure blood flow and brain activity.
They found striking patterns of progressively reduced blood flow were found in virtually all regions of the brain across categories of underweight, normal weight, overweight, obesity, and morbid obesity.
These were noted while participants were in a resting state as well as while performing a concentration task.
In particular, brain areas noted to be vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease, the temporal and parietal lobes, hippocampus, posterior cingulate gyrus, and precuneus, were found to have reduced blood flow along the spectrum of weight classification from normal weight to overweight, obese, and morbidly obese.
Considering the latest statistics showing that 72% of Americans are overweight of whom 42% are obese, this is distressing news for America’s mental and cognitive health.
The study provides compelling evidence that obesity alters blood supply to the brain to shrink the brain and promote Alzheimer’s disease.
This is a major advance because it directly demonstrates how the brain responds to our bodies.
This study highlights the need to address obesity as a target for interventions designed to improve brain function, be they Alzheimer’s disease prevention initiatives or attempts to optimize cognition in younger populations.
Such work will be crucial in improving outcomes across all age groups.
One author of the study is Daniel G. Amen, MD.
The study is published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
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