Obesity has been called the “Great American Disease” because it now impacts 30 percent of U.S. adults (which amounts to over 60 million people). It is, however, a global disease that affects more than 300 million worldwide.
While most are aware that being overweight and obese can increase their risk of high cholesterol, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, researchers from UCLA have uncovered another lesser known, but equally severe, risk.
After reviewing brain scans of 94 people in their 70s, researchers found that obese people have 8 percent less brain tissue than those of normal weight, and their brains look 16 years older as well.
Overweight people, in addition, had 4 percent less brain tissue and their brains appeared 8 years older than those with leaner builds. This amounts to “severe brain degeneration,” according to senior author of the study and UCLA professor of neurology Paul Thompson. He told Live Science:
“That’s a big loss of tissue and it depletes your cognitive reserves, putting you at much greater risk of Alzheimer’s and other diseases that attack the brain.”
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