Higher levels of body fat are linked to changes in the brain, including differences in white matter and reductions in gray matter volume, according to new findings published in Radiology.
The authors explored data from a UK trial that included more than 12,000 participants, who all underwent 3T multiparametric brain imaging.
“MRI has shown to be an irreplaceable tool for understanding the link between neuroanatomical differences of the brain and behavior,” lead author Ilona A. Dekkers, MD, Leiden University Medical Center in Leiden, the Netherlands, said in a prepared statement. “Our study shows that very large data collection of MRI data can lead to improved insight into exactly which brain structures are involved in all sorts of health outcomes, such as obesity.”
A higher body fat percentage was associated with lower gray matter volume overall in men. In women, on the other hand, a significant negative association was observed between total body fat and the brain’s globus palidus. In men and women, higher total body fat percentage increased a patient’s likelihood of experiencing changes in their brain’s white matter.
“Interestingly, we observed that these associations are different for men and women, suggesting that gender is an important modifier of the link between fat percentage and the size of specific brain structures,” Dekkers added.
Changes to white matter could impact a patient’s ability to send signals within other parts of the brain, and reductions in gray matter volume imply a noteworthy loss of neurons, according to the authors.
There is certainly more that can be learned from these findings. The team is already looking ahead at the next step for this research.
“For future research, it would be of great interest whether differences in body fat distribution are related to differences in brain morphological structure, as visceral fat is a known risk factor for metabolic disease and is linked to systemic low-grade inflammation,” senior author Hildo Lamb, MD, PhD, director of the Cardio Vascular Imaging Group of Leiden University Medical Center, said in the same prepared statement.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.