Obesity may result in loss of brain power in women

Apart from lots of other negative effects of obesity, scientists are adding one more - loss of brain capacity among women.

Women who are obese for many years are more likely to suffer brain cell loss linked to dementia, according to new research. Deborah Gustafson and colleagues at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden measured the body mass index (BMI) of the women and found that women who were obese for long periods of time were much more likely than slim women to show brain atrophy - the abnormal loss of neurons. Or in other words, as the body gets larger, the brain gets smaller. (Related article: Are you obese? Find out first before getting concerned.)

The researchers found that almost half of the women showed brain cell death in the temporal lobes. Brain shrinkage in this area is associated with Alzheimer’s disease and loss of cognitive function. Gustafson said. "The temporal lobe is important for a number of reasons, including hearing, speech, language, comprehension, naming, memory, and visual processing of, for example, faces," she said.

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