Effect of Obesity on the Brain Performance

Obesity, or overweight, is not so problematic if only a few excess pounds. Overweight condition can increase the risk of cancer, diabetes and heart as well. Recent research suggests that obesity may also cause other problems such as memory, thought and power of analysis is weakened. The good news, an international research team reported that, these problems can be repaired, along with reduced weight.

Previous research has shown a link between diseases caused by overweight with cognitive problems. Cognitive derived from the word cognition, which refers to the brain process of collecting, analyzing and using information. In previous studies, people with heart disease or high blood pressure - diseases that are closely associated with obesity - have a memory, thought and power analysis are lower than those of normal weight.

Health experts define obesity based on a scale called a body weight index (BMI) - This is a mathematical calculation that uses height and weight. To find out your BMI, go to "Calculate your BMI". If someone has a BMI above 30, then that person is categorized as obese.

For the new study, scientists want to find out if obesity can result in lower scores on cognitive tests. The researchers created a study involving 150 volunteers who are overweight. The study was chaired by John Gunstad, a psychologist from Kent State University in Ohio, which examined how the disease affects the ability to think.

Gunstad and colleagues asked 150 obese people to take cognitive tests. The researchers then compared the results of these tests with the test results in healthy people. The researchers found that, in general, volunteers with obesity, testnya results will be lower compared with healthy people. In several tests, including tests of memory, almost 1 in 4 obese people have a very low score so it can be categorized in the "unable to learn" or "disabled."

After the initial test, 109 participants were doing similar surgery to help lose weight. Twelve weeks after the procedure, the participants lost weight about 25 kilograms per person. Gunstad and his colleagues then gave them another test and found that participants who lose weight will get a higher score on the test power of memory.

This does not occur in participants who did not lose weight, either through surgery or other means. The participant is instead to score worse on the next test.

"These results are a little surprising," said Gunstad told Science News.

Effect of obesity on the brain. A collection of nerve fibers in the brain is protected by a white insulation material. Recent research has shown that obesity can damage the material, likely complicate the signal to move from one place to another in the brain.
In another study, researchers investigated the possibility of a connection between obesity and brain function. Scientists use a tool called a magnetic resonance imaging (Magnetics Resonance Imaging / MRI) to look into the human brain. MRI, which uses magnet fields and radio waves, producing three-dimensional images of internal organs.

Gunstad and colleagues used MRI to study the collection of nerves that information to the brain drain. White and greasy substance, surrounds and protects the nerves of this collection. Gunstad and colleagues found a defect in the outer layer of protection on those people who are obese.

"It's not like a cable cut," said Gunstad told Science News, but the damage can be a problem for a signal that tries to move from one place to another in the brain.

Mark Bastin, an expert on images of the brain at the University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital in England, told Science News that the results of MRI studies Gunstad very interesting and thorough. But he noted that the study Gunstad have a small scope, the results can be used as a benchmark for the initial step in large-scale scientific research.

In the brain, obesity can damage the nerve channels. In a larger scope, obesity affects the thinking power, memory and power analysis. In the overall scope, obesity has a very bad for the mind and body. One in three people in the U.S. population, or 72 million people in the United State, are obese, and have a high risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes, as well as cognitive problems.

"For a long time, doctors have known that being overweight is bad for your body," said Gunstad. "Obesity can damage the heart and cause difficulty in breathing. Now advanced research, suggests that excess weight can also damage the brain, the main part of your brain that is important to remember and learn new things. This will cause you trouble to do your best and get good grades in school. "

In recent years, the number of children and adolescents who are overweight jumped drastically. "If this pattern continues." Gunstad said, "This will cause the number of people who suffered brain damage and the risk of having problems at work and school," This is why Gunstad provide recommendations for children to protect their brain to maintain weight healthy, berkonsutaltasi on parents and teachers about healthy foods and exercising regularly. In addition, the scientists also argued that "A healthy body will produce a healthy brain."

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This Causes Why Eating Late At Night Should Be Avoided

Some people there who have a habit of eating or snacking late at night. This habit should not be done anymore, because there are several reasons that make eating late at night should be avoided.

The results showed a tendency often eat late at night because it is triggered by stress during the day or sleep disorder insomnia, so someone divert to food.

Even the activities of eating late at night just to make the body gain weight no matter should not be done. Have a habit of eating late at night is not recommended, especially if done almost every day.

In people who do have a habit of this in medical terms is called a syndrome dinner (late night eating syndrome). People with this syndrome will eat heavy meals after passing through the dinner hour is ideal.

Eating late at night can give a bad consequences for health. The following are reasons that make eating late at night should be avoided, as quoted from Buzzle, Saturday (08/27/2011), namely:

1. Affect sleep
Scientific studies found that eating foods high in calories, high in caffeine and spices can make a person difficult to sleep. This is because the body has difficulty in digesting food high in calories and indirectly make a person difficult to sleep soundly.

In addition these foods can also cause anxiety, irritability and pain in the abdomen, this condition will certainly disrupt sleep patterns or waking up at night.

2. Cause weight gain
Eating late at night is very easy to make a person's weight, because people generally do not do much activity at night so that the food intake will be stored in the body into fat.

3. Prone to other health consequences
These conditions trigger esophageal reflux (food turned up to the top) because of the food consumed is not fully reached the stomach but it was straight to bed, triggering the occurrence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which caused a mild sensation of burning pain in the chest and heart area. Whereas in people with diabetes, it is late at night can affect the ability of insulin resistance.

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10% Decrease In Body Weight Can Minimize The Risk of 4 Kinds of Disease

For people who have excess weight to flee the gradual weight loss. With the ideal weight is not only beneficial to the body shape. Because the lower 10 percent of excess body weight can reduce the risk of disease 4.

"No one can climb the mountain in one big step, but what is needed is a series of small steps until it reaches the peak," said Travis Stork, MD from the physical faculty of Vanderbilt Medical Center, as quoted from Menshealth.com, Friday (14 / 1 / 2011).

Stork said in making small steps such a person will get a very big impact in terms of appearance, health and life. A study in England called the Counterweight Programme see the impact and strength of changes in body weight by 10 percent.

If someone is obese have lost 10 percent of their body weight then he will get benefits such as:

1. Opportunity 31 percent lower risk of diabetes 
2. 20 percent chance of lowering the risk levels of blood fats (cholesterol) high
3. Opportunity 25 percent lower risk of high blood pressure
4. Opportunity 21 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease including coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke and heart attack.

A study in 2009 published The Lancet showed that normal weight is something one expects to live 10 years longer. Because it is a decade that a person needs to be able to relax with your husband or wife and to know his grandchildren someday.

"I do not want someone on a diet to lose weight, but refers more to make food choices and activities and not on the meal plan restrictions that could be more dangerous," said Stork.

Stork revealed identical diet by restricting calories, which means lower metabolism in the body to determine the weight badanjangka length. Dieting will send a signal to the body to slow down the body's metabolism if starving and hold on to existing energy savings.

What is even worse is if someone is constantly running out of food will make the body burn muscle tissue as well as create increased visceral fat is actually an enemy to the body.

For that drastic weight loss does not provide benefits for the body and health as well, but if done in stages that is equal to 10 percent of their body weight a person can get multiple benefits.

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