Obesity’s Impacts on Our Brain, Dementia, and Fertility

The AHA! Team — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 05:24:53 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – Weight loss can decrease dementia risk and improve mental performance and fertility. As I’ve discussed previously, in the ABCs of the health consequences of obesity, A is for Arthritis, B is for Back Pain and Blood Pressure, C is for Cancer, and D is for Diabetes. That brings us to E, which is for Encephalopathy. Encephalopathy means brain disease. There are consistent data linking obesity in middle age to a higher risk of dementia later in life. Researchers found that individuals who are overweight have about a one-third higher risk of dementia and those who are obese in mid-life have about 90 percent greater risk. The risk isn’t limited only to future dysfunction, though. People with excess body weight don’t appear to think as clearly at any age. “It was found that obese participants showed broad impairments on executive functions” of the brain, including working memory, decision-making, planning, cognitive flexibility, and verbal fluency. “From resisting temptation to keeping long-term goals in mind, executive functions play a critical role in everyday life,” noted a meta-analysis and review of 72 studies on the issue. People may think about their obesity…as much as five times an hour According to researchers, people may think about their obesity and the resulting stigma they experience as much as five times an hour, but the cognitive deficits do not appear to arise just from distraction; there are structural brain differences between individuals who are at an ideal weight versus overweight. A review entitled “Does the Brain Shrink as the Waist Expands?” noted gray matter atrophy across all ages among those carrying excess body fat. It’s this reduced brain volume that has been correlated with lower executive function. As you can see below and at 1:42 in my video The Effects of Obesity on Dementia, Brain Function, and Fertility, compromised integrity of the rest of the brain—the white matter—suggests accelerated brain aging, even in young adults and children with obesity. Cognitive deficits in younger populations suggest there’s something about obesity itself that is affecting brain function, rather than a later clinical consequence, such as high blood pressure. Purported mechanisms for this executive dysfunction include obesity-related inflammation and oxidative stress. So, does weight loss improve cognitive function? Based on a meta-analysis of 20 studies, researchers found that mental performance across a variety of domains can be significantly improved with even modest weight loss. However, no studies have yet to be done to determine if this then translates into a normalization of Alzheimer’s disease risk. Back to the ABCs of obesity’s health consequences, F is for Fertility—or rather failed fertility. “Overweight and obese persons seeking fertility should be educated on the detrimental effects of fatness and the benefits of weight reduction, including improvement in pregnancy rates,” one meta-analysis concluded. Men also may suffer impaired fertility. The heavier a man is, the greater his risk of having a low sperm count or being completely sterile, as you can see below and at 3:01 in my video. This may be due in part to the effects of excess body fat on testosterone levels. Fat isn’t the primary site of estrogen production in only postmenopausal women, but in men, too. An enzyme in body fat converts testosterone into estrogen. Men losing weight and going from obese to overweight could potentially raise the testosterone levels in their blood by 13 percent. A more dramatic cause of infertility in obese men… is called a “hidden penis.” The condition, which is also described in the medical literature as a “hidden, buried, concealed, trapped, and inconspicuous” penis, occurs when excess fat in the pubic area subsumes the penis (since its base is attached internally to the pubic bone). The moist enfolding skin surfaces can result in chronic inflammatory dermatitis leading to scarring and requiring a surgical intervention. If you missed the previous blog posts, I covered The Best Knee Replacement Alternative for Osteoarthritis Treatment and The Effects of Obesity on Back Pain, Blood Pressure, Cancer, and Diabetes. I continue the topic of obesity and weight with videos in the related posts below. I cover all of this and more at length in my book How Not to Diet, and its culinary companion, The How Not to Diet Cookbook, has more than 100 delicious, weight-conscious recipes. Request them from your local library. For more on the health conditions discussed in this video, see the Alzheimer’s disease, cognition, and fertility topic pages. Key Takeaways Middle-aged individuals who are overweight have a one-third higher risk of dementia, while those who are obese face a 90 percent greater risk later in life. Obesity is linked to impaired executive brain functions, such as memory, decision-making, and planning, even in younger individuals, due to structural changes like reduced gray matter. Obesity can cause premature brain aging, with reduced gray and white matter integrity, leading to cognitive deficits that suggest brain function is affected by obesity itself, not just related conditions. Modest weight loss can significantly improve cognitive function, though it’s unclear if this reduces Alzheimer’s disease risk. Obesity can negatively affect fertility in both men and women, with excess fat lowering testosterone levels in men and contributing to conditions like “hidden penis” that may require surgical intervention. To read the original article click here.

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Low-Fiber, High-Fat Diets Cause Significant Shifts in the Gut Microbiome

AHA Publisher — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 07:00:19 +0000

American Physiological Society (APS) via News-Medical – Changes to gut microbiome are known to impact metabolic health. Physiologists at Laval University in Canada have discovered that diets containing low fiber and high fat cause significant shifts in the gut microbiome-;the collection of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other multicellular microorganisms that live in the gastrointestinal system. The study is published in the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology. The research paper has been chosen as an APSselect article for June. Researchers used a mouse model to determine the key dietary factors affecting gut microbiome and how they contribute to obesity and other metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes. Mice were fed varying levels of low-fiber, high-fat diets which changed their gut microbiome. “What we have shown is that by increasing the amount of fiber in your diet and lowering the amount of fat, you work on two very important components that will improve your health.” André Marette, PhD, Laval University, Canada Marette talked more in-depth about his findings in this video interview. More than 34 million people in America have diabetes, and the overwhelming majority of these individuals have type 2 diabetes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Marette’s team hopes to test the findings from the animal model in a new upcoming clinical study involving humans. The goal is to help define novel nutritional approaches to prevent unhealthy changes in gut microbiome and intestinal function to reduce the risk of metabolic diseases. Read the full article, “Dietary fat and low fiber in purified diets differently impact the gut-liver axis to promote obesity-linked metabolic impairments.” It is highlighted as one of this month’s “best of the best” as part of the American Physiological Society’s APSselect program. To read the original article click here.

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developing obesity Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Obesity’s Impacts on Our Brain, Dementia, and Fertility

Low-Fiber, High-Fat Diets Cause Significant Shifts in the Gut Microbiome