Obesity harms 'later brain skill' : LC Research/Media Forum : Active Low-Carber Forums

#1 ^

Thu, Mar-22-12, 02:25

Demi

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Obesity harms 'later brain skill'

Quote:

From BBC News
London, UK
22 March, 2012

Obesity harms 'later brain skill'

Being overweight in later life puts you at higher risk of brain decline, Korean research suggests.

A study of 250 people aged between 60 and 70 found those with a high body mass index (BMI) and big waists scored more poorly in cognitive tests.

The Alzheimer's Society said the research, in the journal Age and Ageing, added to evidence that excess body fat can affect brain function.

Lifestyle changes can help make a difference, it said.

The study looked at the relationship between fat levels and cognitive performance in adults aged 60 or over.

The participants underwent BMI - a calculation based on a ratio of weight to height - and waist circumference measurements, a scan of fat stored in the abdomen and a mental test.

Both a high BMI and high levels of abdominal fat were linked with poor cognitive performance in adults aged between 60 and 70.

In individuals aged 70 and older, high BMI, waist circumference and abdominal body fat were not associated with low cognitive performance.

The lead author of the study, Dae Hyun Yoon, said: "Our findings have important public health implications. The prevention of obesity, particularly central obesity, might be important for the prevention of cognitive decline or dementia."

A spokesperson from the UK Alzheimer's Society said: "We have all heard how a high BMI is bad for our heart but this research suggests it could also be bad for the head.

"Although we don't know whether the people in this study went on to develop dementia, these findings add to the evidence that excess body fat could impact on brain function.

"One in three people over 65 will die with dementia but there are things people can do to reduce their risk.

"Eating a balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly and getting your blood pressure and cholesterol checked can all make a difference."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17465404

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#2 ^

Thu, Mar-22-12, 07:55

leemack

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So magically between 60 and 70 there's a critical time where the fat around your waist and BMI affects your cognitive skills, but after 70 you're fine, at no risk? Really?

What biological mechanism means that fat calls around your waist affect cognitive skills within a specific 10 year period and not after those 10 years? What biological mechanism shows fat cells affect cognitive skills at all?

Maybe a more sensible hypothesis would be that something in the diet causes abdominal obesity and a decrease in cognitive skills, rather than just drawing a straight line from the fat cells to tthe brain.

'Science' gets worse and worse.

Lee

#3 ^

Thu, Mar-22-12, 08:17

DAGrant

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This study makes no sense to me, either. I call this 'Headline Science' they only do a study long enough to get a good headline out of it.

#4 ^

Thu, Mar-22-12, 09:09

Zuleikaa

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Ditto what the two previous posters said.

I'm thinking these affects are caused by Lipitor/statins.

#5 ^

Thu, Mar-22-12, 09:17

Gypsybyrd Gypsybyrd is offline

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Another hypothesis: the brain gets tired at age 60 - after all it's been working for 60 years!, takes a 10 year break and, after resting for 10 years, reengages.

#6 ^

Thu, Mar-22-12, 15:41

rightnow

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Quote:

Both a high BMI and high levels of abdominal fat were linked with poor cognitive performance in adults aged between 60 and 70.

In individuals aged 70 and older, high BMI, waist circumference and abdominal body fat were not associated with low cognitive performance.

I believe what this must come down to is something like:

Abdominal fat tends to reflect eating habits and so, naturally, is one possible marker of health. But it wasn't an overwhelming effect size. So as people age they naturally often get heavier and that is actually (if not extreme) associated with health, not illness. So as soon as they upped the age group, the 'effect size' disappeared. That's my theory anyway.

I don't have any trouble believing that you can correlate nearly every performance indicator with health, for better or worse. Seems kind of like a no-brainer to me.

PJ

#7 ^

Thu, Mar-22-12, 16:06

Ilikemice

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Gypsybyrd

Another hypothesis: the brain gets tired at age 60 - after all it's been working for 60 years!, takes a 10 year break and, after resting for 10 years, reengages.

Am only 49 but can I start my brain-resting period now? Promise, I'll boot it up again in ten years...

#8 ^

Tue, Aug-21-12, 00:59

Demi

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Obesity 'bad for brain' by hastening cognitive decline

Quote:

From The BBC
London, UK
21 August, 2012

Obesity 'bad for brain' by hastening cognitive decline

Being overweight is not just bad for waistlines but for brains too, say researchers who have linked obesity to declining mental performance.

Experts are not sure why this might be, but say metabolic changes such as high blood sugar and raised cholesterol are likely to be involved.

Obesity has already been tipped as a risk factor for dementia.

The work, published in Neurology, tracked the health of more than 6,000 British people over a decade.

The participants, who were aged between 35 and 55, took tests on memory and other cognitive skills three times over a 10-year period.

People who were both obese and who had unhealthy metabolic changes showed a much faster decline on their cognitive test scores compared to others in the study.

Delving deeper

The experts stress that they only looked at cognitive function, not dementia.

The boundary between normal ageing, mild cognitive impairment and dementia is blurred - not all impairment leads to dementia.

All of the study participants came from one group of civil service workers, which may mean the findings may not apply more generally to other populations.

They said: "More research is needed to look at the effects of genetic factors and also to take into account how long people have been obese and how long they have had these metabolic risk factors and also to look at cognitive test scores spanning adulthood to give us a better understanding of the link between obesity and cognitive function, such as thinking, reasoning and memory."

Shirley Cramer of the Alzheimer's Research UK said: "We do not yet know why obesity and metabolic abnormality are linked to poorer brain performance, but with obesity levels on the rise, it will be important to delve a little deeper into this association.

"While the study itself focuses on cognitive decline, previous research suggests that a healthy diet, regular exercise, not smoking and controlling blood pressure and cholesterol in midlife can also help stave off dementia. With dementia figures spiralling towards a million, the findings suggest we should be conscious of our general health throughout life."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19323061

#9 ^

Tue, Aug-21-12, 01:41

Demi

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Quote:

Obesity phenotypes in midlife and cognition in early old age
The Whitehall II cohort study

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association of body mass index (BMI) and metabolic status with cognitive function and decline.

Methods: A total of 6,401 adults (71.2% men), aged 39–63 years in 1991–1993, provided data on BMI (normal weight 18.5–24.9 kg/m2, overweight 25–29.9 kg/m2; and obese ≥30 kg/m2) and metabolic status (abnormality defined as 2 or more of 1) triglycerides ≥1.69 mmol/L or lipid-lowering drugs, 2) systolic blood pressure ≥130 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure ≥85 mm Hg, or antihypertensive drugs, 3) glucose ≥5.6 mmol/L or medications for diabetes, and 4) high-density lipoprotein cholesterol <1.04 mmol/L for men and <1.29 mmol/L for women). Four cognitive tests (memory, reasoning, semantic, and phonemic fluency) were administered in 1997–1999, 2002–2004, and 2007–2009, standardized to z scores, and averaged to yield a global score.

Results: Of the participants, 31.0% had metabolic abnormalities, 52.7% were normal weight, 38.2% were overweight, and 9.1% were obese. Among the obese, the global cognitive score at baseline (p = 0.82) and decline (p = 0.19) over 10 years was similar in the metabolically normal and abnormal groups. In the metabolically normal group, the 10-year decline in the global cognitive score was similar (p for trend = 0.36) in the normal weight (−0.40; 95% confidence interval [CI] −0.42 to −0.38), overweight (−0.42; 95% CI −0.45 to −0.39), and obese (−0.42; 95% CI −0.50 to −0.34) groups. However, in the metabolically abnormal group, the decline on the global score was faster among obese (−0.49; 95% CI −0.55 to −0.42) than among normal weight individuals (−0.42; 95% CI −0.50 to −0.34), (p = 0.03).

Conclusions: In these analyses the fastest cognitive decline was observed in those with both obesity and metabolic abnormality.

Footnotes

Study funding: Supported by the NIH (R01-AG013196, R01-AG034454, and R01-HL036310), Academy of Finland, the BUPA Foundation, UK, and the Medical Research Council, UK (G0902037).

http://www.neurology.org/content/79/8/755

#10 ^

Tue, Aug-21-12, 09:17

leemack

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Maybe its the crappy diet that causes cognitive problems - not excess fat cells!

Lee

#11 ^

Tue, Aug-21-12, 10:11

Dodger Dodger is online now

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It could be that years of fueling the brain on glucose instead of ketones causes damage.

#12 ^

Tue, Aug-21-12, 11:38

M Levac

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Quote:

Experts are not sure why this might be, but say metabolic changes such as high blood sugar and raised cholesterol are likely to be involved.

Quote:

1) triglycerides ≥1.69 mmol/L or lipid-lowering drugs, 2) systolic blood pressure ≥130 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure ≥85 mm Hg, or antihypertensive drugs, 3) glucose ≥5.6 mmol/L or medications for diabetes, and 4) high-density lipoprotein cholesterol <1.04 mmol/L for men and <1.29 mmol/L for women)

I have no idea why these experts said that. They did not measure total cholesterol. Or if they did, they didn't report the results for some reason. Total cholesterol did not agree with their working hypothesis, perhaps? Most likely methinks. And omitting those results allows those experts to continue to say what they said.

I agree with you guys. Whatever causes obesity would also cause a decline in cognitive functions. Which is to say, lean people will lose cognitive functions just as much.