BBI: why is big belly bad for thinking?

December 20, 2019 / Biovalley BIOON / -- researchers at Iowa State University found for the first time that as we grow older, decreased muscle mass and increased body fat may affect our flexibility of thinking, and changes in various parts of the immune system may be a key factor The study, led by Auriel willette, assistant professor of food science and human nutrition, looked at data from more than 4000 middle-aged and elderly people The researchers examined participants' muscle mass, abdominal and subcutaneous fat content, and their relationship to six years of intellectual change (image source: www Pixabay Com) the authors found that most people in their 40s and 50s had higher abdominal fat content, and their intelligence declined with age Conversely, an increase in muscle mass may protect intelligence from decline Generally, people begin to gain weight and lose muscle in middle age, and this trend continues with age In order to overcome this problem, it is more important to keep muscular development through exercise Exercise, especially resistance training, is essential for middle-aged people, and middle-aged women have lower muscle mass than men, so they should pay special attention to it, the authors said The study also looked at whether changes in immune system activity could explain the link between fat or muscle and intelligence Previous studies have shown that people with high body mass index (BMI) have more active immune system activities in their blood, which activate the brain's immune system and affect cognitive ability In this study, the authors found that changes in lymphocytes and eosinophils may account for this Although studies have found a correlation between body fat and mental decline, it is unclear whether it increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease "Further research is needed to see if people with less muscle and more fat are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and the role of the immune system in it," the authors said Sources of information: changes in the immune system explain why pretty fat is bad for thinking original sources: Brandon s klinedinst, Colleen Pappas, Scott Le, Shan Yu, Qian Wang, Li Wang, Karin allenspach join, Jonathan P mochel, Auriel a willette Aging related changes in fluid intelligence, muscle and adobe mass, and sex-specific immunologic mediation: A longitudinal UK Biobank study Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 2019; 82: 396 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2019.09.008