Overeating and obesity has been a problem throughout the world for quite some time. As food makers find ways to make their food more processed and cheap to produce, humans are continually eating more and more calorie rich foods.
The obesity rate around the world is skyrocketing and it is nothing short than an epidemic. Recent research has discovered a link between obesity and brain dysfunction that makes the condition seem like a disease.
Over-nutrition can cause catastrophic effects in the brain. Recent research has even shown that over-nutrition can breaking down the blood brain barrier which results in a whole new set of complications. Over nutrition also directly causes weight gain in individuals.
When someone gains a lot of weight it results in fat tissue expansion and inflammation, and amyloid-β precursor. This causes insulin resistance in the brain which has been directly tied to cognitive defects.
Obesity also leads to inflammation in the hippocampus which directly leads to a decrease in working memory. Obesity has also been tied to atrophy which results in the decrease in the persons ability to move properly.
Obesity also leads to hypothalamic inflammation which leads to an imbalance in chemicals in this region which inhibits a person’s ability to control energy and food intake which feeds back to over nutrition in a vicious cycle.
Another very interesting discovery was that not only did cognitive functioning and memory become impaired with increased weight gain, but cognitive functioning and memory actually become restored when something impedes and weight loss is a result.
A lot of conversations have been had about whether obese individuals were more at risk for developing this condition than healthy individuals and some of the information found was astounding.
For example, a person who grew up eating nutritious foods had an easier time controlling hunger and food intake later in life, while a person who grew up on an excessive amount of calorie-rich foods developed an imbalance in chemicals in the hypothalamus which resulted in a difficult time controlling cravings for calorie-rich foods. Also, when given a test for brain activity when shown a picture of a sought after food item, obese individuals brains lit up more than an average weight individual.
Obesity is a problem and needs to be dealt with properly. This new information about the neurological effects of obesity makes it that much more intimating of a disease. That being said, it also opens new doors for possible treatment options for obesity.
By figuring out the exact mechanisms, we may be able to treat obesity easier and more effectively than say a gastric bypass.
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Image citations:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7151813.stm
