Pear shaped? Then you could be prone to memory problems

What shape you are could affect what shape your memory is in.

Women with excess fat on their hips are apparently more likely to have trouble remembering things than those with fat on their waists.

The difference between pear-shaped women and their apple-shaped peers emerges from a study of the link between obesity and mental dexterity.

Overall, researchers found that the heavier someone is, the worse their memory becomes in middle and old age.

However, the reason why pear-shaped women experienced more memory problems than apple-shaped women is related to the type of fat usually deposited on the hips, researchers said.

'Obesity is bad, but its effects are worse depending on where the fat is located,' said Dr Diana Kerwin, who led the study.

Fat releases hormones called cytokines that can cause inflammation and may interfere with memory and mental skills.

Different kinds of fats release different cytokines – and have different effects on blood pressure, cholesterol levels and insulin resistance.

'We need to find out if one kind of fat is more detrimental than the other, and how it affects brain function,' she said.

'The fat may contribute to the formation of plaques (protein deposits) associated with Alzheimer's disease or a restricted blood flow to the brain.'

She said the study showed that women with excess fat on their hips may need a more aggressive intervention to lose weight.

The study of nearly 9,000 women aged from 65 to 79 was carried out by researchers at Northwestern University, Chicago. It is the first to show a connection between obesity and mental skills among healthy older women.

'The message is obesity and a higher Body Mass Index are not good for your cognition and your memory,' said Dr Kerwin.

'While the women's scores were still in the normal range, the added weight definitely had a detrimental effect.'

For every one point increase in a woman's BMI – the measure of obesity that takes into account height as well as weight – her score on the researcher's memory test dropped by one point.

The women were scored on a 100-point memory test called the Modified Mini-Mental Status Examination, the researchers report in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society.

The link between obesity and memory was clear, even after the scientists took into account whether the women were suffering from diabetes, heart disease or stroke – all of which can lead to a decline in memory and thinking speed.


Source:dailymail.co.uk
Pictures: saintlukeshealthsystem.org and nzgirl.co.nz