Many of you may have read my blog last Thursday, talking about Terry Bradshaw.
Daniel Amen, MD has conducted studies on former NFL players, finding that many of the professional football players exhibited significant differences in their brain functioning that was consistent with chronic brain trauma.
Many of these players were depressed and overweight when they sought out help from Amen.
What is most interesting to me about his study is that Amen also found that as the players lost weight, their brain functioning improved.
Improvement occurred in areas of memory, general cognitive functioning, information processing, and reasoning.
How does body weight affect our cognitive abilities?
A number of years ago, I read an interested study out of the journal Neurology that suggested that women with a higher body mass index (BMIs) throughout life had a greater risk for cerebral atrophy in older age than women who had smaller life time BMIs.
These results came from a 24-year long longitudinal study of women’s health out of Sweden.
Since this study was published in 2004, many other studies have been published with similar findings.
Large waist lines are one symptom of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), which also includes hypertension, high triglycerides, and high blood sugar.
A recent study published in Neurology followed over 7000 French elders and found that MetS as a baseline is associated with increased risk of cognitive decline.
These are just a few of many new studies showing the effect of weight and general metabolism on overall brain health.
And what’s one way to fight against these effects?
Well, exercise for one can be helpful, not just for weight issues, but also as an agent of neurological growth.
And there are lots of other ways to improve our neuroplasticity.
We have created a teleseminar series, New Brain Science Series, with the intention of spreading new techniques and information that practitioners can use to boost their patients’ brain power and overall health.
You can find out more information about the series here.
Would you suggest weight loss to a patient who has shown cognitive decline? Please leave a message below.
As a 65 year old psychotherapist who has, in the past year, lost the equivalent of three good size (6#) roasting chickens, I’m glad to see this conversation. I made a decision to enter my “senior” years in the best possible health: Yoga 2-3 times a week, the gym 2-3 hours a week, lots of walks and deciding that processed flour was not my friend. BMI matters. Sometimes, I see an amazing level of denial regarding healthy living among my fellow psychotherapists who sit all day. The focus on health vs weigh is all well and good, but with 3 chickens less weight stressing my hips and knees, I’m a happier camper.
No doubt there are many factors at play in this weight loss and increase brain functioning research.Are we talking overweight or obese? I know that it is possible to be overweight and healthy however in over 30 years of clinical practice as a wholistic chiropractor/nutritionist I have only seen it a handful of times.I have yet to see a fit healthy obese person. What I love about this research is that it highlights the interconnected nature of wellbeing. Sonja, Australia.
Ruth, RE the John Ratey talk, very useful information. I wonder what neuroplasticity can offer for the disabled with muscle wasting diseases who cannot exercise, people in a wheelchair with limited arm function. Kind regards.
Good article, which sits well with your interview about exercise and cognitive function of 4/20. On the question of whether I would suggest weight loss to someone with cognitive decline, I would dance around it with great delicacy – especially as I am quite thin – and then seek an opening to this subject if the therapeutical alliance seems firm enough. It would instill hope – to use Yalom’s immortal phrase – if nothing else.
Kind regards.
There was a question raised above about research results based on obesity vs. food choice and quite frankly, both have been linked to neural functioning. There are numerous studies showing the affect of food choice on our brains.
However, research has also shown that obesity in and of itself has been linked to cognitive dysfunction, as was mentioned by the longitudinal study printed in Neurology in 2004. That study looked at women periodically over a 24-year period, requiring that the women complete a survey on health and lifestyle factors and also undergo various medical tests. The resulting multivariate analysis showed that age and body mass index were the only two significant predictors of neural atrophy.
Research has shown that different types of body fat have different impacts on our health. In terms of specifically “belly fat,” research has linked this particular type of fat to a number of ailments, including osteoporosis in women (see an earlier NICABM blog on this topic).
So while research has linked nutrition and diet to brain health (or ill-health), it has linked overall obesity to cognitive functioning as well.
We do understand the importance of food to the brain health debate and so have reserved one of our New Brain Science 2011 Series interviews solely for the role of nutrition in brain health.
I have to agree with June McCarthy and Glenn. I’m not sure how they justifiably directly correlate weight loss with higher brain function — did they evaluate people who lost weight without adding any other changes (increasing exercise, managing stress/inflammation, etc)? I’d just like people to consider steering clear of single-factor thinking. We can’t say with 100% certainty that ONE thing clearly causes another within the human body — we are too complex. Many studies have already demonstrated the importance of physical movement in brain development — so might it also be the increased activity associated with weight loss that also contributes to increased cognitive function? Just food for thought.
Hmmm. Is it actually the waistline itself that causes cognitive problems, or is the waistline just another symptom of the actual problem, ie the food and drink that are currently in the body? I’d have thought the food we’ve just eaten would have much more of an impact on cognitive function (witness my nephew’s hyperness after a can of lucozade) than simply having fat round one’s waist. I think this article may be confusing cause and effect(s).
Hi Pi, Thanks I see it now, Thanks for the reply.
Comment on Sue’s mail about signing up for the seminars:
I just clicked on the link in Ruth’s blog, and below the two choices for signing up (both for over 100$, as you say) for the seminar there was a button for free registration. Using that I got a confirmation mail for my registration.
Hi Ruth,
this is interesting linking the enlarging waistline with cognitive function. If this be true then I wonder what low glycaemic foods and moderate exercise will do to brain function? They certainly assist with metabolic syndrome that is indicated with increased blood sugars, increased waistlines and hypertension.
June McCarthy
New Zealand
The seminars have no way to sign up for free, both choices are well over 100$. If there is a way to sign up for free as you stated I’d like to know how. THanks, Sue
Scary yet also valuable information! Good to know that we can make a difference to our own cognitive functioning potential and also pass on the information to others. Timely for me to get back on the “exercise and eat better” track!
Excellent artical
Oh my Goodness.
Not quite the blog I had hoped to read. We know the stereotype ‘fair, fat and forty’. Well that was me a decade ago. Now I am greying, losing muscle and gaining tummy fat, fifty AND at greater risk of cognitive decline.
Gosh, Ruth, can’t you come up with some research to encourage slothfulness, chocolate guzzling, less exercise and fun in front of the TV?
No seriously, this is a whisper. It is time for me to HEAR it and make life changes. My mother has Alzheimers (84) and it is not entertaining for her or me!
Off to buy salads for today.
Here is to slender waistlines for the 50+s.
Greetings from France,
Claire aka Pure Bliss
While living abaord it can change a persons cognitive capacity because of the many different things they encounter while living there and interacting with the people there as well. People who live abaord no matter how long it is they can change from being dramatically to the realization of many things. The different things people learn from living aboard is the social and economic status of that country and how things are different from when you are a tourist from an actual citizen or civilian. They can come to an understanding of how people live there to how they live in their home country. Other than finding out how living in that country is you also find out the culture side and social side of that country. Living there and seeing the arts district and what they embrace is their culture you can compare and contrast what your country and their country embraces. Doing this you can combine them and embrace both and use them for your own creativity. I feel that no matter what country you live in abaord your creativity can change no matter how long because things grow on you and you find the importance of them and you embark on it. Creativity can come with different types of things such as materialist items or even certain aspects as well of that culture. Many people who go abaord and live there usually don’t want to come back to their home country because how much better there life is there and what they have experienced in that new country.