You already know that excessive weight has an impact on your body. Did you realize that it can also negatively affect your brain? Which means that weight loss can have a positive influence on your brain.
In truth, obesity affects the majority of the body’s organs. So, why would your brain be an exception? Perhaps, more importantly, is the fact that researchers have found shedding your excess fat can and will improve brain function. Meaning, the ill effects of that extra weight can be reversed.
A study from the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University in Augusta focused on a group of people who had undergone bariatric surgery. They discovered that the operation had a positive effect in the brain, however, additional research has shown that exercise and other weight loss strategies can have the same impact.
Why does this matter?
Well, right now 160 million Americans are classified as overweight or obese. Further, people who are obese in mid-life are more likely to develop dementia compared to people who maintain a normal weight. This is according to a joint-study on Body Mass Index in midlife and dementia, which reviewed 19 studies comprising over half a million participants. They also concluded that midlife obesity increases your risk of developing depression.
Essentially, these studies look at how body fat affects the brain and the fact that when studied in mice, the fat cells are responsible for releasing a substance that causes inflammation in the brain.
According to one study on Potential Hormone Mechanisms of Bariatric Surgery, before bariatric surgery, the brains of the obese patients metabolized sugar quicker than the control group who were all normal weight. All of the patients were given cognitive function tests both before and after their procedure.
Following bariatric surgery, the obese patients experienced improvement in the brain activity that was detected before they underwent the procedure. Additionally, their performance, when tested on cognitive function, also improved.
In particular, executive function improved, which is the area of the brain you use when you plan and organize. Ultimately, the findings of this research show that when you lose weight, it helps to reverse the negative effects body fat had on your brain. You’re reversing the issue.
There is still much research to be done on the subject when it comes to how or why body fat negatively impacts the brain. However, many people believe that it’s a simple chain of events. For example, there have been linked between insulin resistance and a number of neurodegenerative diseases. We associate insulin resistance with inflammation, oxidative stress, and fatty acids.
This metabolic disorder can be triggered by obesity. It may also be down to particular types of fat. The worst type of body fat is visceral fat. This increases the risk of insulin resistance. Additionally, fat around your middle can release stress hormones which cause issues for your brain in terms of cognitive function.
Stress hormones also trigger signals to your body that you’re hungry, which will further contribute to your weight issue. It’s a snowball effect, it starts with one thing and becomes a host of issues that all feed each other.
Ultimately, inflammation is consistently an issue related to body fat and a number of disorders, from brain diseases to depression. Body fat comes with a long list of negative body effects, and your brain is at risk as well. So, if you plan to lose weight, you can think about the positive effects it will have on your brain as well as your body.