Are you 60 and still on pounds? Your brain can age faster



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According to one study, a larger waistline and a high body mbad index (BMI) in the 1960s could be linked to the signs of aging of the brain for at least a decade.

"People with larger height and a high BMI were more likely to have lightening in the area of ​​the brain's cortex, implying that obesity is badociated with reduction of brain's gray matter "Said the author of the study, Tatjana Rundek. The study was published in the journal Neurology.

"These badociations were particularly strong in the under-65 age group, supporting the hypothesis that poor mid-life health indicators may increase the risk of brain aging and memory and cognitive impairment." thinking at the end of life, "said Dr. Rundek,

The study involved 1,289 people aged 64 years on average. Two-thirds of the participants were Latino. BMI and waist circumference of participants were measured at the beginning of the study.

Six years later, on average, participants underwent brain MRI to measure the thickness of the brain's cortex area, overall brain volume, and other factors.

A total of 346 participants had a BMI less than 25, which is considered a normal weight; 571 people had a BMI of 25 to 30, which is considered excess weight; and 372 people had a BMI of 30 or more, which is considered obese.

For the waistline, which can be different for men and women, the normal weight group, which was 54% female, had an average of 33 inches, the group of overweight, 56%, 36 inches and the obese group, 73% female, averaged 41 inches.

A higher BMI was badociated with a thinner cortex, even after researchers had adjusted for other factors that could affect the cortex, such as high blood pressure, alcohol consumption, and smoking.

In overweight people, each increase in BMI unit was badociated with a thinner cortex of 0.098 mm (mm) and obese individuals with a thinner cortex at 0.207 mm. The dilation of the cortex is linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Having a larger size was also badociated with a thinner cortex after adjusting for other factors.

"In aging adults, the overall cortical thinning rate is between 0.01 and 0.10 mm per decade, and our results suggest that overweight or obesity can accelerate brain aging by at least one year. decade, "said Rundek.

Rundek noted that the study did not prove that excess weight thinned the cortex. This shows only an badociation.

One of the limitations of the study is that, like many studies of older people, it is possible that the healthiest people are more likely to live longer and to take part in studies, which may affect the results.

Posted on: 29 July 2019 11:32

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