More weight, less brain
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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
A look into the brains of obese and overweight people finds less than you might have thought.
Dr. Cyrus Raji of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine examined brain images on 94 people in their 70s, who remained healthy physically and mentally five years after the scans were made.
[Dr. Cyrus Raji speaks] "Persons with obesity had 8 percent less brain tissue than those with a healthy weight. Overweight individuals had a 4 percent reduction in their brain tissue compared to healthy weight."
Dr. Raji says obese people in particular had less brain matter in areas responsible for attention and planning, and long-term memory. He says it's a good reason for diet and exercise.
The study in the journal Human Brain Mapping was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Learn more at hhs.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.
Last revised: September, 21 2009