Middle-aged adults who were overweight or obese had a white matter volume that was comparable to those of lean adults who were 10 years older; for example, the white matter volume of a 50-year-old overweight adult was on par with that of a 60-year-old lean adult.
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Obesity is linked with a number of health conditions, like diabetes and heart disease, but scientists are just beginning to explore how obesity affects the progression of brain aging.
Despite these findings, the study found no connection between being overweight and a decrease in cognitive skills, such as measured by an IQ test. She also noted that, “overweight or obese [people] have a greater reduction in the amount of white matter”, which is what the connective tissue is referred to as.
Among those who were overweight, the disparity in white matter density only showed up from middle-age onwards, suggesting our brains are more vulnerable later in life.
“The overall message is that brains basically appear to be 10 years older if you are overweight or obese”, said Lisa Ronan, lead author of the study from Cambridge University.
“The fact that we only saw these differences from middle-age onwards raises the possibility that we may be particularly vulnerable at this age”, said senior author professor Paul Fletcher in the report. They discovered striking changes in the volume of white matter in the brains of overweight people evaluated with those of their leaner counterparts.
The team studied data from 473 individuals between the ages of 20 and 87.
White matter, which transmits information, seen in a scan of an overeight 50-year-old brain (l.), was almost equal to a skinner 56-year-old brain.
The criteria for “overweight” and “obese” are calculated as a ratio of height to weight known as the Body Mass Index (BMI). Participants’ cognitive abilities were also tested.
But scientists don’t know the full implications of these changes in brain structure yet. The University of Cambridge team says it’s very possible weight loss that comes with mild exercise may even be able to reverse brain aging in overweight individuals.
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The research was supported by the Bernard Wolfe Health Neuroscience Fund, the Wellcome Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
