Here is another reason to keep your weight under control. Those extra pounds are not worth losing brain cell function! See what you think about this new study.
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Healthy women who put on weight between the premenopausal and postmenopausal years risk losing nerve cells in the brain, research suggests.
Gaining weight is a “highly modifiable” risk factor that may be targeted to prevent or slow the progression of potentially harmful age-related changes in the brain, the University of Pittsburgh-based study team suggests in the June issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.
Dr. Isabella Soreca and colleagues analyzed brain imaging data obtained from 48 healthy older women who were tracked over a 20-year period as part of the longitudinal epidemiological Pittsburgh Healthy Women Study.
They report in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine that an increase in body weight during the transition to menopause and beyond was “uniquely associated” with a lower volume of gray matter (the portion of the brain containing nerve cell bodies).
Soreca and colleagues say this finding is “particularly noteworthy” given that these were healthy older women who entered menopause naturally and had no history of cardiovascular disease or psychiatric disease and none were obese in mid-life or later on.
“Women may be particularly motivated to maintain a healthy weight in the postmenopausal years, should it be confirmed that weight gain causes alteration in brain function that is important to quality of life,” Soreca and colleagues conclude.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE56F5I820090716
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That’s interesting. I guess we’ll just chalk it up as another reason to reach and maintain a healthy weight.
That is alarming research, to say the least, and it’s another compelling reason for us menopausal women to try and keep a check on gaining weight.
I suppose it’s some consolation to remember that the things we do to stay slender are also good for the health of our brains. After all, the best way to tackle weight gain is to exercise regularly and eat a nutritious diet with the emphasis on fresh fruit and veggies and wholegrains – and cut out the junk. Both of these measures are also good for brain health and psychological wellbeing, so we can look after our minds and our bodies, all at the same time.