News: Obesity can cause cogntive decline

Obesity isn’t just bad for your heart, waistline and blood pressure. According to a new study, it’s bad for your brain too.

The study, published in the journal Neurology, examined the association between body mass index, metabolic status and cognitive function, and found that obese people showed signs of cognitive decline.

“We do not yet know why obesity and metabolic abnormality are linked to poorer brain performance,’ Shirley Cramer of the Alzheimer’s Research UK told the BBC. ‘But with obesity levels on the rise, it will be important to delve a little deeper into this association.’

This isn’t the first study linking obesity to poor cognitive function. A 2009 study published in the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease found that obesity may play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s Disease. A 2010 study also found a link between obesity and lower brain volume.

According to Health Canada, the number of Canadians who are overweight or obese has increased dramatically over the past 25 years.

If damage to our physical health and the environment wasn’t enough incentive to shed extra pounds, maybe the threat of declining mental health will be.

What do you think? Does this study motivate you to eat healthy and exercise?

-Katharine Watts, Associate Web Editor

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