Fat? Or just Stupid? Obese People found to have "serious Brain Degeneration"

[stephendare]

At least, by the time you are in your 70s.

http://www.livescience.com/health/090825-obese-brain.html

Here's the whole, terrible story.

Sheesh.  No more Ranch dressing......I wonder if Moustaches help?

A new study finds obese people have 8 percent less brain tissue than normal-weight individuals. Their brains look 16 years older than the brains of lean individuals, researchers said today.

Those classified as overweight have 4 percent less brain tissue and their brains appear to have aged prematurely by 8 years.

The results, based on brain scans of 94 people in their 70s, represent "severe brain degeneration," said Paul Thompson, senior author of the study and a UCLA professor of neurology.

"That's a big loss of tissue and it depletes your cognitive reserves, putting you at much greater risk of Alzheimer's and other diseases that attack the brain," said Thompson. "But you can greatly reduce your risk for Alzheimer's, if you can eat healthily and keep your weight under control."

The findings are detailed in the online edition of the journal Human Brain Mapping.

Obesity packs many negative health effects, including increased risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and some cancers. It's also been shown to reduce sexual activity.

More than 300 million worldwide are now classified as obese, according to the World Health Organization. Another billion are overweight. The main cause, experts say: bad diet, including an increased reliance on highly processed foods.

Obese people had lost brain tissue in the frontal and temporal lobes, areas of the brain critical for planning and memory, and in the anterior cingulate gyrus (attention and executive functions), hippocampus (long-term memory) and basal ganglia (movement), the researchers said in a statement today. Overweight people showed brain loss in the basal ganglia, the corona radiata, white matter comprised of axons, and the parietal lobe (sensory lobe).

"The brains of obese people looked 16 years older than the brains of those who were lean, and in overweight people looked 8 years older," Thompson said.

Obesity is measured by body mass index (BMI), defined as the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters. A BMI over 25 is defined as overweight, and a BMI of over 30 as obese.

The research was funded by the National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Center for Research Resources, and the American Heart Association.

[Deuce]

"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life son."

[Sportmotor]

"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life son."

Couldnt have said that any better

[Ocklawaha]

BEFORE VIETNAM

Well S**T, my mind was pretty well blown after Vietnam anyway... At least now, everytime I look at my ample gut, I'll have one more thing to thank the people of Southeast Asia for! Fat, Drunk and Stupid? Hell NO! Try Fat, Drunk, Stoned and Stupid...hee hee.

AFTER NAM


OCKLAWAHA

[jandar]

better to be fat happy then be skinny and hungry.

The BMI needs to be abolished.
Maurice Jones Drew has a BMI of 32.6
Garrard has a BMI of 31.1
Greg Jones has a BMI of 33.5

I had a BMI of 29 in high school when I played football, yet I could wear a pair of 28" waist jeans.

[Deuce]

Measures are rather arbitrary. A person need only look in the mirror and see if they are truly fat or unhealthy (of course this doesn't apply to those with warped body images).

[The Compound]

This has always been a good rule: Stand naked in front of a full size mirror and jump, if it jiggles, its fat.

[Ocklawaha]

This has always been a good rule: Stand naked in front of a full size mirror and jump, if it jiggles, its fat.

So what would you call those of us who would go right through the floor as we jumped?

OCKLAWAHA

[Deuce]

Wrecking balls.

[Ocklawaha]

LOL Deuce! LOL!

OCKLAWAHA

[buckethead]

Not everything that jiggles is fat.

Just sayin'.

[Captain Zissou]

How about, if it keeps jiggling after you land.....THAT IS FAT!

[shanshan1218]

people are soo obsessed with what is or isnt "fat". I try to live as healthy as possible without developing OCD

[Dog Walker]

Gee, Ock.  That after Vietnam picture is interesting.  Didn't know you had so much.....hair.  LOL!

[ErikSetzer]

Well, it makes sense, in a way.  Typically people who are fatter have diets that are less healthy, which will create all kinds of health problems... such as in the brain.

Though, if a person becomes wiser as they age, and the bigger a person is the older their brain is in relation to others', then does that mean that the fattest people around are also the wisest?

Hmm...