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One of the largest studies linking obesity with brain dysfunction, scientists analyzed more than 35,000 functional neuroimaging scans using single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) of more than 17,000 people to measure blood flow and brain activity.
Low brain blood flow is the # 1 brain imaging predictor that a person will develop Alzheimer’s disease. It’s also linked to depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury, addiction, suicide, and other conditions.
“This study shows that being overweight or obese has a serious impact on brain activity and increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and many other psychiatric and cognitive conditions,” explains Daniel G. Amen, MD, lead author of the study and founder of Amen Clinics, one of the clinic’s researchers. leading brain-centered mental health in the United States.
Striking patterns of reduced blood flow were found in almost all brain regions in the underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese, and morbid obesity categories. This was recorded when the participants were at rest as well as while doing a concentration task.
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In particular, areas of the brain known to be susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease, the temporal and parietal lobes, hippocampus, posterior cingulate gyrus, and precuneus, were found to have reduced blood flow across a spectrum of weight classifications from normal weight to overweight, obesity, and non-obesity. natural.
As reported Times Now News, Thursday (13/8), considering the latest statistics showing that 72% of Americans are overweight of whom 42% are obese, this is sad news for US mental and cognitive health.
“The acceptance that Alzheimer’s disease is a lifestyle disease, slightly different from other age-related diseases, the lifetime number is the most important breakthrough of this decade,” said George Perry, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Semmes Foundation Distinguished University Chair in Neurobiology at The University of Texas, San Antonio.
“Dr. Amin and collaborators provide strong evidence that obesity alters the blood supply to the brain to shrink the brain and increase Alzheimer’s disease. This is a major advance because it directly shows how the brain responds to our bodies,” he continued.
The study highlights the need to tackle obesity as a targeted intervention designed to improve brain function, be it Alzheimer’s disease prevention initiatives or efforts to optimize cognition in a younger population. Such work will be very important in increasing yields across all age groups. Although the results of this study are very concerning, there is hope.
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“One of the most important lessons we’ve learned over the 30 years of doing functional brain imaging studies is that the brain can be improved when you put it in a healing environment by adopting healthy brain habits, such as healthy calories, a smart diet and regular exercise,” adds Dr. Amen. .
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