According to Canadian researchers, there is a direct association between adiposity -having too much fatty tissue in the body- and cognitive impairment. Canadian specialists determined the adiposity of more than 9,000 participants who measured their total body fat and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) -the fat that predominantly sits around organs in the abdominal cavity.
All participants undertook two cognitive tests — the Digital Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) — to assess a range of cognitive functions.
Regarding the research, Dr. Anton Porsteinsson, professor and director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research and Education Program (AD-CARE) at the University of Rochester Medical Center, told Medical News Today:
“It is well-known that greater adiposity and body fat are associated with increased cardiovascular risk factors and that those are associated with increased risk of cognitive decline. This cross-sectional study found that excess adiposity was a risk factor for reduced cognitive scores, independent of cardiovascular risk factors, educational level, and MRI-detected vascular brain injury.”
The authors suggest that inflammation may play a role in cognitive impairment in those with overweight or obesity.
One recent study involving more than 15,000 individuals found high levels of plasma C-reactive proteinTrusted Source, an inflammatory marker, in those with a high BMI and a high waist-hip ratio.
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