According to psychologists at the University of Texas at Austin, obesity can affect cognitive abilities too. The culprit is impaired insulin sensitivity in obese people. The results of the research study were published in the October 2010 issue of the journal Obesity.
What Research Learnt About Lower Insulin Sensitivity and Poor Cognitive Abilities?
- The researchers wanted to learn how obesity in mid-life caused dementia and other cognitive disorders in old age.
- Obese, overweight and normal middle-aged adults belonging to the age group 40-60 years were the participants of this study who were asked to complete a challenging task involving cognitive abilities.
- The responses of the brain while the participants were doing the tasks were monitored using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
- Individuals from all the three groups completed the tasks well, but obese people had a section of their brain, the inferior parietal lobe, functioning less.
- As it is known, obese individuals have lower insulin sensitivity when compared to the other two groups.
- It means that glucose is broken down into energy less efficiently in their body, keeping the blood sugar levels high for extended periods of time.
- The research study found that impaired sensitivity to insulin can be a potential mediator for causing cognitive decline in the later years of people who have obesity in their mid-life.
- It was learnt that the lower sensitivity to the hormone insulin disrupts the normal processing of the brain and carries out different chemical reactions in order to produce the same cognitive abilities in obese people similar to their normal peers.
- The study also brought out the benefits of using neuroimaging techniques in middle-aged individuals in order to find out the risk of cognitive decline in prior.
Significance of the Research on Lower Insulin Sensitivity and Poor Cognitive Abilities Nexus:
Insulin hormone is a signalling molecule which is closely related to metabolism and affects cognitive functions. Moreover, the age group addressed in this research study is the least explored one even though later life health complications are diagnosed in this phase of life.
Awareness about these research facts can help obese people maintain a balanced diet and exercise regularly. It is because fortunately, sensitivity to insulin hormone can be reversed by adopting a good diet and doing exercise regularly.
