A new study suggests that obese elderly people have less brain tissue than elderly people of normal weight.
In the testing, researchers found that the brain tissue of obese people appeared 16 years older than tissue of healthy people the same age. The obese patients also appeared to have tissue missing in the temporal and frontal lobes, which control memory and decision-making.
The tissue loss and damage may stem from the brain’s lack of proper oxygen and nutrients. This can happen over time among older people who overeat, gain weight, and don’t exercise.
The Human Brain Mapping study also suggests that the obese elderly have a high risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. In reviewing the findings, Dr. Mitchell Roslin, chief of obesity surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, noted that obesity affects every system in the body. The bottom line, he said, is that older people who are obese will suffer some degree of breakdown in every bodily organ, including the brain.
