Negative effects of obesity on the brain can start during adolescence

 
Todays youth are faced with a dangerous epidemic: obesity. Clinically defined by the CDC as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30% or above, rates of obesity in children and adults have tripled in the United States alone since the 1970s.The issue remains widespread and continues to affect more and more young people across the globe at an alarming rate.
 

Obesity Linked to Brain Damage in Youth

 
  In a shocking study published by the Obesity, Insulin and the Adolescent Brain  
“Our maps showed a positive correlation between brain changes and hormones such as leptin and insulin,” Dr. Pamela Bertolazzi, study co-author, biomedical scientist and Ph.D. student from the University of S�o Paulo in Brazil concluded. “Furthermore, we found a positive association with inflammatory markers, which leads us to believe in a process of neuroinflammation besides insulin and leptin resistance.”  
  Additional research from JAMA Pediatrics shows that many children are not only at risk for diabetes but also currently experiencing prediabetes.

Obesitys Lasting Effects

 
While the DTI results in RSNA study are significant and compelling on their own, the study authors believe that the combined cumulative effect may be significantly worse than what is seen solely on the imaging findings. The effect may be the beginning of diseases such as vascular dementia, stroke, cognitive stunting and mood disorders such as depression, anxiety and attention deficit that can last well into a childs later years.   This finding is in line with research conducted by the