could mean that brain signals were having problems in getting through

Research done in America shows that the simple act of losing weight can work wonders not only for your general health but even your brain! The researchers made a group of volunteers do memory and special concentration exercises before and after bariatric surgery to prove it.

The research which was led by Kent State University was done with 150 volunteers, 109 of which were bariatric surgery patients and 41 who were used as obese control subjects.

Three different medical centers, namely the Cornell Medical College, the Weill Columbia University Medical Center and the Neuropsychiatric Research Institute took part in the study which showed that very overweight individuals were actually impaired in their cognitive ability but that after they had the bariatric surgery many of them showed significant improvements which put them into the normal range for memory and cognitive function.

Professor John Gunstad who led the study explained that because patients of bariatric surgery lose a lot of weight quickly the group was good one to study. In some of the tests it was seen that nearly 25% of the obese volunteers did so badly that they could be considered as 'learning disabled'.

The research also involved using magnetic resonance imaging to scan the brains and it was observed that some of the obese individuals had damage to a material that insulates brain nerve fibres. Professor Gunstad speculated that this could mean that brain signals were having problems in getting through.

Professor Gunstad also said that there could be many reasons as to why the weight loss improved cognitive function but it was not purely because of a lessening of the symptoms of hypertension, diabetes or sleep apnea and appeared to be directly related to the weight loss.

This sort of research is extremely controversial because overweight and obese people are often stigmatized as being stupid and lazy and this study will only add fuel to the fire of discrimination against this group. On the plus side it may raise more awareness about the dangers of obesity and hopefully encourage obese individuals to get help for their weight problems.