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Being fat is bad for your brain
- tokenadult 17y ago"Whatever the causes, the implications are grave. In the United States today, around one-third of adults are obese. At the same time, dementia is already one of the most costly and devastating health problems of old age. The possibility that obesity today will lead to higher rates of dementia in the future is, therefore, deeply alarming."
- Retric 17y agoDon't worry fat people die young... Well, if you are fat enough for the average american to notice you can expect a reduced lifespan. If you are slightly overweight relative to BMI charts you actually have a longer life expenctancy. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WikiRRM.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WikiRRM.jpg) PS: I guess the truth hirts.
- aaronblohowiak 17y agoNot as much as you'd think. They are just more expensive to maintain as they age, thanks to the wonders of modern medicine.
- Retric 17y agoIt's still relative but when you tip 40+ BMI you still have a significantly shorter life expectancy. On average, obesity reduces life expectancy by six to seven years:[2][27] a BMI of 30–35 reduces life expectancy by two to four years,[21] while severe obesity (BMI > 40) reduces life expectancy by 10 years.[21](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity) PS: I have a BMI of 34 so I want to know just how bad it can get if I let myself go any further. There is a lot of misinformation out there but being overweight has real negative effects on your heath.
- Dove 17y agoHence, the only civilized thing to do is have thin people subsidize their health care. And then, since that's unfair, apply social and legal pressure to encourage fat people to stop being such Bad Citizens.
- zyb09 17y agoha! That explains everything about the USA. Just kidding :P
- kevinh 17y agoYes, being morbidly obese isn't healthy, but I feel obligated to point out that being underweight is generally as bad medically as being obese, yet due to society's standard of beauty trending towards people who are practically skeletal, you don't see that mentioned nearly as much.
- antidaily 17y agoSorry, but no way. Being underweight presents far less health consequences than being even just overweight. Obesity health risks: Heart Disease, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Stroke, sleep apnea, Gout. Underweight health risks: Osteoporosis, weakness, anemia, weaker immune system.
- ErrantX 17y agoDo you have medical evidence to back that up? Some problems associated with being underweight (I was very underweight when younger) I am aware of are: - susceptible to illness/disease - poor metabolism - bad blood flow - tiredness The problems are different, definitely, but no less problematic. I would argue the higher number of people dying of obesity is purely down to the higher number of obese people (compared to dangerously underweight people)
- antidaily 17y agoedited my post.
- jules 17y agoSo if you are not tired not weak and almost never sick but technically underweight you don't have to worry? How can you determine poor metabolism and bad blood flow?
- ErrantX 17y agoNot at all - those are just some of the things I suffered from. Bad blood flow? If you have issues with feeling cold a lot (especially in your extremities), regular light headedness etc.
- ecoffey 17y agoSIGH, climbs back on bike
- anamax 17y agoMy brain really likes glucose.
- oscardelben 17y agoAnd guess what? Food companies know that too.
- adamc 17y agoFortunately, being fat is also likely to make you die before you get dementia. No question that being fat isn't healthy, but I don't think there is much of a practical take-home from this. People already know that.
- truebosko 17y agoThe article is not just saying fat != healthy. There are some good comments to takeaway about how fat affects the brain, e.g.: " Fat cells also secrete substances that cause inflammation; chronic inflammation of the brain, which is often found in the obese, impairs learning and memory and is also a feature of Alzheimer’s."
- c0riander 17y agoCorrelation =/= causation. So many leaps are being made here. > One study of 60 healthy young adults (in their 20s and 30s) found that the fatter members of the group had significantly lower gray-matter densities in several brain regions, including those involved in the perception of taste and the regulation of eating behavior. Maybe the lower gray-matter density, particularly in the "perception of taste and the regulation of eating behavior" areas, predisposes them to being overweight, rather than the extra weight causing brain shrinkage. You'd have to do a longitudinal study to be able to make a case for causation...
- ottbot 17y agoJust want to add that I much prefer "=/=" rather than "!=" when expressing an inequality.. I don't like the latter used in this context. I might totally wrong here, but I always something like "correlation != causation" as a test, not a statement - it could be true or false!
- izendejas 17y agoYea, the conclusion is overly simplified here. I think it's safe to say not exercising and not eating well is generally bad for your entire well being, not just your brain and weight.
- KirinDave 17y agoI don't like the causal relationship expressed in the title of this article. What the data they describe in the article suggests is that increased risks for dementia and obesity are linked. But the title has the typical, "If you're not working out you're HURTING YOUR BRAIN." That, it seems, is not yet researched enough to be conclusive (nor is it really germane to the article). Yet another case of "Good Article, Bad Headline." I hope this isn't another excuse for thin people to lord their genetic predispositions and life choices over thick people. That's very tiresome.