those volunteers that cut their calories had a 20 percent average improvement

Ukmedix News has reported on a number of occasions about research projects which showed that both men and women who were overweight or obese were more likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia related conditions as they aged. However a new study shows that the effect of eating a lot is not something just for the future but is also something which could be having an immediate effect on your brain.

The study which was done by the National Academy of Sciences in the United States and which was reported in the New York Times shows a clear correlation between the power of your memory and the quantity of what you eat. Admittedly the study was minuscule by professional clinical research standards with only 50 male and female volunteers taking part but the results seem to be pretty clear cut.

The first group of volunteers was asked to decrease the amount of calories that they ate daily by 30 percent and the other group was asked to increase their calorie intake by 20 percent.  The researchers claimed that those volunteers that cut their calories had a twenty percent average improvement in their performance when subjected to memory testing. The researchers also showed that a decrease in memory power was recorded in those people who increased their daily calorie intake.

It is worth noting however that you do need a little bit of food in order to think fast and quickly. People who have breakfast have better cognitive function than those who don’t but on a more practical level you may have noticed yourself that if you overeat you tend to feel lethargic and lazy and that you don’t feel like doing mental tasks.

There is a lot of predjudice against overweight people who are perceived to be less intelligent and lazier than normal weight individuals and this research will unfortunately only reinforce that prejudice. At the same time however it is worth taking into consideration that if you are overeating you could be stopping your brain working at full power.