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Obesity May Accelerate Brain Aging
natehoy writes "According to the US News and World Report, a recent study has shown a link between obesity and the loss of neurological tissue. The brains of elderly patients who were obese had on average 8% less tissue than their trimmer counterparts. Overweight patients had brains lighter by about 4%. This could have implications for the onset of dementia illnesses such as Alzheimer's. Just one more risk factor to add to the growing body (no pun intended) of reasons to try and stay trim."
This should be obvious. There is already a clear understanding of the cause of obesity via carbohydrate consumption, combined with the effects of said consumption on the production of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) in the brain, and their effect on cognitive function.
I have been overweight for over ten years now and this is the best reason to slim down I've heard yet. I take a great deal of pride in my intelligence, so anything that puts it at risk can not be tolerated.
Trust Your Technolust
drink more than thin people (getting shit on regularly can have that effect on people)
I haven't seen that to be the case; I don't see more fat people in bars than I do on the street. In fact, there are a higher percentage of fat people where I work than in my favorite bar, although that's probably because most of the people at work sit at a desk, while my favorite bar's clientelle is mostly construction workers.
and have crappier jobs than their normal-sized counterparts
The ones with the crappiest jobs usually are doing physical labor, and as such are generally a lot more fit than the average slashdotter, whether he's a skinny nerd or a fat nerd.
Why don't we just say that fat people are worse than Hitler and be done with it?
Gee, this early in the thread and Godwin has been invoked? I wish overweight people would be less self conscious about themselves. Except women -- "you're getting too skinny" can get you laid! I'm all for fat women, they're easier to seduce than hotties.
You know, the way we've already done with anyone who dares smoke anything other than marijuana (which is somehow magically good for you)
Actually, there have been studies showing benefits to potsmoking, including a greatly reduced risk of cancer among those who also smoke tobacco.
or who eats meat
Come on now, it's only a tiny but vocal minority against carnivorousness. Join PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals)
or who drives an SUV
OK, you got me there. Driving an SUV is an almost sure sign of a reduced intellect. They cost more to drive than any other class of vehicle, and more people die in them per passsenger mile than any other type of vehicle due to their poor handling and braking and high center of gravity and lack of crumple zones. SUV drivers drive badly not from lack of driving skill but because their vehicles suck. Plus, ask an SUV driver why they have it and they'll say "it carries so many passengers", but notice SUVs on the road and you'll see very few with more than the driver. If you carry passengers, get a minivan -- more passengers, better mileage, and they're the safest vehicles on the road.
But in the end, you have to die from something. When my grandmother was 95 she said to me "I don't know why people want to live to be a hindred, it ain't no fun bein' old!"
She was overweight when I was a kid, but when she reached her mid seventies or early eighties she started losing weight. Her mind was sharp as a tack until the day she died (at age 99).
Free Martian Whores!
Well, the danger of these kinds of correlation studies is that you have no idea what the relationship is.
Maybe people who have brain degeneration are prone to eating more food, thus becoming obese? In that case getting them to eat less won't fix their brains because you have it the wrong way around.
Likewise, just why is it that SO many people are overweight? Is the present generation just collectively lacking in willpower? Sure, you can shout at people to go on a diet, but they've been doing that for the last 20 years and I don't see much to show for it. There has to be an underlying cause. I don't pretend to know what it is - maybe it is high-fructose corn syrup, or maybe obesity is cross-linked to genes that give computer proficiency and we've been selecting for it. My point is that while it is true that eating more = weight gain, why is it that people are eating so much more today?
The trick I found was to stop looking at all the "beautiful people" and just look at myself. Me at 270 looked better than me at 280. 260 was getting downright sexy (OK, I exaggerate, no I outright lie, but anyway)...
Every few pounds was a struggle, but at the end I could look at a picture of myself a few pounds ago and say "Ugh! At least I'm better than that!"
In the end, I lost about 70 pounds, and it took me the better part of a year. And it was a tough year, full of triumphs and tragedies, hard work, failures, and successes.
But now I can jog, I can ride my bike 15 miles each way to work, I can kayak for miles. I can do so many things I simply couldn't. I know the long time I was very heavy will have long-term consequences I'll have to deal with later, but I'm healthy NOW.
"This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."