A fat tummy shrivels your brain
Source: New Scientist[1]
Obese individuals had more water in the amygdala, a part of the brain involved in eating behavior, Antonio Convit at the New York University School of Medicine found in an fMRI study. He also saw smaller orbitofrontal cortices in obese individuals, important for impulse control and also involved in feeding behavior .
“It could mean that there are less neurons, or that those neurons are shrunken,” says Convit. Obesity is associated with a constant, low-level inflammation, which Convit thinks explains the change in brain size.
References
- ^ New Scientist (www.newscientist.com)
