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Central obesity linked to brain shrinkage
January 22, 2019

Scientists now believe that obesity in the stomach area could even have associations with a smaller brain size.

Researchers already know the size of the brain can determine its health and function.

However, they know much less about what affects brain size itself.

According to Mark Hamer, a professor at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom "Existing research has linked brain shrinkage to memory decline and a higher risk of dementia, but research on whether extra body fat is protective or detrimental to brain size has been inconclusive.

Doctors can calculate BMI by dividing a person's weight by the square of their height.

Specialists consider people with a BMI of 30 and over to have obesity.

The team calculated brain size using MRI scans and examined the volumes of both white and gray brain matter. Both of these are important in different ways.

The researchers saw no notable differences in white matter brain volume, but they did find a link between being overweight and a decrease in size in regions of the brain associated with motivation and reward.