Examining grey brain matter of about 28,000 people, the world first research showed that increased body fat incrementally leads to increased atrophy of grey matter in the brain and consequently higher risk of declining brain health.
Grey matter is an essential part of the brain responsible for execution control, muscular and sensory activity as well as learning, attention, and memory.
Harmful body fat not only increases your waistline, but also your risk of dementia
“In this study, we investigated the causal relationships of individuals within three metabolically different obesity types* – unfavourable, neutral and favourable – to establish whether specific weight groups were more at risk than others
“Generally, the three obesity subtypes have a characteristic of higher body mass index, yet, each type varies in terms of body fat and visceral fat distribution, with a different risk of cardiometabolic diseases.
“We found that people with higher levels of obesity especially those with metabolically unfavourable and neutral adiposity subtypes had much lower levels of grey brain matter, indicating that these people may have compromised brain function which needed further investigation.
The three obesity subtypes are:
- ‘unfavourable’ – people who tend to have fat around their lower torso and abdominal area, including around their waist. These people have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and heart diseases.
- ‘neutral’ – people who have a relatively low or very low risk of cardiometabolic diseases.
- favourable’ – people who have wider hips but a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and heart diseases.
The larger the waist the weaker the brain
One of the many reasons why everyone who sees us gets a detailed body composition and muscle and fat analysis.
Here is the machine we use (I think this is accurate? Can you get a good picture as well- of not only the machine but of the report analysis on this link?)
InBody 270: Portable and easy body composition analysis
A good article on why you need to know your body fat
