A new study shows that fatty foods may not only add fat to your waistline, but can also wreak havoc on the mind.
According to the newspaper, Medical Express, the international study, led by neuroscientists at the University of South Australia (UniSA), Professor Shen Fu Zhou, and Associate Professor Larisa Bobrovskaya, found a clear link between mice fed a rich diet. They were given fats for 30 weeks, leading to diabetes and a subsequent decline in their cognitive abilities, including the development of anxiety and depression and exacerbation of Alzheimer’s disease.
And mice with impaired cognitive function were more likely to be overweight due to impaired metabolism caused by brain changes.
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Researchers from Australia and China published their findings in the Journal of Metabolic Brain Diseases.
Larisa Poprovskaya, a neuroscientist and biochemist at the University of South Australia, says the research adds to the growing body of evidence linking chronic obesity, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease, which is expected to reach 100 million cases by 2050.
“Obesity and diabetes depress the central nervous system, exacerbating mental disorders and cognitive decline. We showed this in our mice studies,” says Prof. Bobrovskaya.
In the study, mice were randomly assigned to a standard diet or a high-fat diet for 30 weeks, starting at eight weeks of age.
Food intake, body weight and glucose levels were monitored at different intervals, along with tests for glucose tolerance, insulin and cognitive impairment.
Mice on a high-fat diet gained a lot of weight, developed insulin resistance and started behaving abnormally compared to those fed a standard diet.
The genetically modified Alzheimer’s disease mice showed marked deterioration in cognition and pathological changes in the brain while fed the high-fat diet.
Prof. Bobrovskaya explains: “People who are obese have a 55% increased risk of depression, and diabetes will double this risk. Our findings underscore the importance of addressing the global obesity epidemic. A combination of obesity, age and diabetes is very likely to lead to a deterioration in cognitive abilities, Alzheimer’s disease, and other mental health disorders”.