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Neuro Athletes,

Our body and mind are not separate entities. In fact, obesity can have a significant impact on our cognitive function, particularly in the domains affected by Alzheimer's disease.

Obesity is generally defined as having a BMI over 30, but a better way to define it is the accumulation of excess body fat.

Excess body fat increases the risk of various health conditions, including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer, osteoarthritis, and asthma.

A recent study found that increased body fat was associated with worse fluid intelligence and working memory, which are the same cognitive domains affected in Alzheimer's disease.

Animal studies suggest that the loss of brain cells and the thinning of brain tissue are the main mechanisms behind the cognitive changes correlated with obesity.

A new study compared the brains of lean and obese individuals, as well as the brains of Alzheimer patients and healthy controls, and found widespread reduced cortical thickness in individuals with obesity, primarily affecting frontal, parietal, and temporal brain areas.

The areas with the highest similarity between Alzheimer's and obesity were predominantly located in the right temporal and left prefrontal cortex.

The authors of the study speculate that neuronal injury in obesity can occur because of cerebrovascular disease or be directly related to other factors such as inflammation, hypertension, or diabetes, all of which have been linked to AD-related pathology.

While this study cannot say that obesity causes brain thinning or that all individuals with obesity have cognitive problems, maintaining a healthy body weight is still important.

In summary, obesity has become the number one modifiable risk factor for dementia in general, and it is crucial to maintain a healthy body weight to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease.

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