The terms “obesity” and “overweight” refers to an individual’s body weight. Also, it specifies whether the body weight is too high. Obesity is the high amount of excessive body fat a person can have. On the other hand, overweight is the additional body weight from fat, bone, muscle or water. Body mass index (BMI) is the most important and effective measuring tool for obesity and overweight. Read on to know more about what needs to be done about obesity.
Millions of Americans are either obese or overweight. Being either of the two puts you at a higher risk in acquiring diseases. There is a more likelihood to develop a disease, if you have more amount of body fat and you weigh more. According to the World Health Organization, more than 300 million individuals worldwide are obese and billion are overweight.
About the Study
A recent study published in the on-line edition of science journal Human Brain Mapping compared the brains of individuals who were overweight, obese or normal. The study was led by Paul Thompson, professor of Neurology in the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
Researchers used Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5-25 to define the normal weight, BMI of 25-30 for overweight people and BMI more than 30 for obese people. They wanted to know whether the brain function in the three categories were normal and healthy. To everyone’s surprise, it was different.
Researchers discovered that the obese individuals had 8% less brain tissue when compared to the brains of normal weight individuals. Also, overweight individuals had a loss of nearly 4% of the brain tissue.
Obesity Linked to Brain Degeneration
For the first time, any study has established a link between severe brain degeneration and being overweight. According to Thompson, the brains of obese individuals appeared 16 years older when compared to normal weight individuals. Also, the brains of overweight individuals looked 8 years older than those who were lean.
