We know: being overweight – which corresponds to a body mass index greater than 25 – is generally bad for your health. To calculate your BMI, the formula is as follows: you divide your weight (in kilos) by your height (in meters), the latter being previously multiplied by itself.
Researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine (in the United States) have just discovered that seniors who, at the age of 60, have a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 and a waist circumference – measured at the level of the navel – greater than 91 centimeters, experience faster than average brain aging.
To reach this (frightening) conclusion, the researchers worked with a group of 1289 American volunteers, whose average age was 64 years. Among them, 346 participants (54% women) had a BMI of less than 25 and a waist circumference of about 84 centimeters; 571 overweight participants (56% women) had a BMI between 25 and 30 and a waist circumference of about 91 centimeters; 372 obese participants (73% women) had a BMI greater than 30 and a waist circumference of approximately 104 centimeters.
Overweight and obesity have an impact on the brain of seniors
Six years later, using an MRI scan, the researchers measured the thickness of the participants’ cerebral cortex – this ‘grey matter’ is involved in many cognitive functions such as language, motor skills and memory. Thus, it has now been proven that an abnormally thin cerebral cortex constitutes a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.
“In healthy people, the cerebral cortex loses between 0.1 millimeters and 0.01 millimeters every 10 years,” explain the researchers, who published their work in the specialized journal Neurology.
Now, scientists have found that in overweight people, each BMI point above 25 adds 0.098 millimeters of thickness loss to the cerebral cortex every 10 years. And in obese people, each BMI point above 30 added a loss of 0.2 millimeters every 10 years. Creepy !
“These results are interesting because they raise the possibility that by losing weight, seniors could also curb their cognitive decline, preserve their cognitive functions (memory, language, concentration, etc.) and protect themselves against degenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer’s disease)” conclude the scientists.
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