Apart from the fact that obesity is harmful to men’s health, it may also have a negative influence on their brains. According to the recent research, being overweight can in fact raise the risk of mental decline in men, which makes it more difficult for their brains to function most effectively over time.
The scientists claim that it is the first major research to discover that obesity alone might reduce brain power. Previous study has already discovered that conditions commonly connected with obesity including high blood pressure and heart disease, may lead to the reduction of brain power.
"We were a little bit astonished when we saw the data," claims the investigator Merrill Elias, MPH, PhD, research professor of epidemiology in mathematics and statistics at Boston University. "The findings suggested that people who are chronically obese are at greater risk of [lowered mental ability] - all other things being equal."
The findings of the research were published in the February issue of the International Journal of Obesity. The study discovered that obesity acts independently - as well as in conjunction with other risk factors - to result in a significant reduction in thinking ability, particularly memory and learning.
The scientists claim that the findings are particularly disturbing in light of statistics that show the United States is facing an "epidemic of obesity" both among adults and children.
According to the CDC, around 20 per cent of American adult citizens - nearly forty million - are obese, which is defined as having a body mass index (BMI, a measure of weight in proportion to height) of 30 or more. For instance, a 5-foot 8-inch adult weighing more than 196 pounds would be regarded as obese in accordance with the BMI scale.
In the course of the study, the investigators analyzed information gathered from 551 men and 872 women over an 18-year period during the Framingham Heart Study, which started in 1948, and observed how obesity and high blood pressure negatively influenced scores on mental performance tests over time.
According to the findings of the research, obesity and high blood pressure - both alone and in combination - had a negative influence on brain power in men, but not in women.
Being Overweight Can In Fact Increase the Risk of Mental Decline in Men
The scientists claim that men can be more susceptible due to the fact that they usually accumulate fat in their midsection rather than in other parts of the body. Previous research has proven that this type of apple-shaped fat distribution carries a much higher degree of health risks than the pear-shaped fat distribution that is frequently found in women.
The research did not scrutinize probable explanations for the reduction in mental ability connected with obesity, however Elias claims that a few factors might play an essential role. For instance, the participants of the research may have suffered from heart disease risk factors that were impossible to detect fifty years ago, which were not accounted for by the research.
However, he also claims that other social and psychological factors connected with obesity and overeating including depression and anxiety, may have also negatively influenced the reduction in brain function discovered by the research.
Other specialists claim that obesity may possibly harm brain function by making it more difficult for blood to reach the brain, similar to high blood pressure and heart disease.
"I would think obesity would act through the same heart disease mechanisms, recalling that obesity is currently a crucial adaptable risk factor for heart disease," explains Charles Billington, MD, associate director of the Minnesota Obesity Center.
Billington claims that there has been very little information concerning the connection between obesity and mental ability, however the findings are not at all astounding, taking under consideration the strong connection between obesity and other chronic diseases, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
"Those who value their [brain power] would interpret this data as a very strong reason to maintain a normal weight," Billington explains to WebMD. "I have a high desire to maintain my own ability to think well as I become older, and I would suppose other people would feel the same."
