January 31, 2023 – A brand new study shows that the brains of obese people undergo similar changes to those of Alzheimer's patients.
Obesity in midlife is related to a better risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. NBC News says a report on the study. This is the primary study to directly compare the patterns of brain shrinkage within the two groups.
Scientists examined brain scans of greater than 1,300 people and located that each groups had similar brain thinning in areas related to learning, memory and judgment, based on the study, which was published Tuesday in Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
“Obesity may cause changes in the body that are linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer's, including damage to the brain's blood vessels and the buildup of abnormal proteins, previous studies have found,” NBC reported. “The new research goes a step further.”
The study's lead writer, Filip Morys, a postdoctoral fellow in neuroscience at McGill University, explained: “We have shown that there is a similarity between the brains of people who are overweight and those of Alzheimer's patients. And it boils down to the thickness of the cerebral cortex.”
A thinning of the cerebral cortex could mean a discount within the variety of brain cells, said Morys.
According to the researchers, obese people may have the option to decelerate cognitive decline by reducing weight.
According to NBC, the brain scans cannot show that obesity causes thinning of the affected brain areas, but metabolism researcher Sabrina Diano of Columbia Irving Medical Center said weight control can reduce the risks.