Does a heavy weight damage the brain?

LONDON (Reuters) – Some parts of the human brain can contract heavy losses, British researchers said on Wednesday.

"This effect is found mostly in people who accumulate fat in the middle of the body," said the researchers in a study published Thursday in the journal Neurology.

At the same time, however, it is not yet clear whether weight gain is causing these changes in the brain, or whether brain change helps gain weight.

The researchers have not attempted to study the consequences of brain changes that have been found to be present in overweight people.

There is no doubt among scientists that weight gain can be the cause of many diseases such as diabetes, joint pain, circulatory problems and breathing difficulties.

It is not yet clear if this increase is also a threat to the brain and what is the magnitude of this risk. In previous studies, researchers have found signs of such a risk.

Researchers under the supervision of Mark Hammer, a specialist in sports medicine at the University of Loughborough, in Great Britain, have studied the effects of excess weight on the brain's gray matter, in particular.

The researchers evaluated the data for 9652 people, the average age being 55 years old. The researchers obtained their Body Mass Index (BMI), which measures body weight based on height and waist / hip ratio.

19% of these people were obese, with a mass index of 30 or more.

The researchers then determined the brain size of these people using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine the size of the gray and white substance.

The researchers found in the study that gray matter in both mass index and height-to-hip individuals was below size in individuals with a natural index. ranging from waist to hip.