Obesity atrophies the brain in a similar way to Alzheimer’s – that’s why it’s important to lose weight

Obesity-related neurodegeneration appears to mimic some mechanisms associated with Alzheimer’s disease. A new study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease conducted by scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute Hospital has found a correlation between the neurodegeneration in obese people and patients with disease of Alzheimerssuggesting that losing excess weight could slow cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer’s.

Previous research has already shown that excess weight can cause neuronal changes such as the accumulation of beta-amyloid protein or the formation of brain damage generally associated with Alzheimer’s disease. However, to date no research has made a direct comparison between the patterns of brain atrophy in Alzheimer’s and obesity.

The authors, led by Philip Moryson the basis of a cohort of 1300 people, they elaborated gray matter atrophy maps for each type of patient: normal weight, overweight, suffering from Alzheimer’s, obese or perfectly healthy.

They then compared Alzheimer’s patients with healthy people and obese people with non-obese people. Scientists have found that obesity and Alzheimer’s disease affected cortical thinning of gray matter in a similar way. Cortical thinning may be a sign of neurodegeneration and this suggests that obesity may cause the same type of neurodegeneration found in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The results, the researchers comment, suggest that obesity must be perceived as a multisystem disease, capable of compromising the respiratory, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular systems. The study also finds a neurological impact in Alzheimer’s disease, showing that obesity may play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Our work reinforces what is already known in previous literature and what the obesit a significant factor for Alzheimer’s diseaseshowing that cortical thinning could be one of the potential risk mechanisms comments Philip Morys, first author of the study. Our results highlight the importance of reducing weight in obese and overweight individuals in middle age to reduce the subsequent risk of neurodegeneration and dementia.

In the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, however, much can still be done to slow down or even reverse the trend. Improving lifestyles, such as losing weight in overweight or obese conditions, helps slow down the evolution of the disease. Even 20% of patients with mild cognitive decline regain lost skills by adjusting incorrect lifestyles.

What the obesit was a risk factor for dementia a fact reported in several researches. A Report of The Lancet of 2020 indicated obesity as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, particularly when associated with diabetes. A 2019 study by South Korean researchers and published in the BMJ showed that changes in body mass index in old age are a risk factor for the onset of dementia. More recently, a study published in Jama has shown that obesity is the first risk factor in the development of dementia.