The health and age of your brain & how it correlates with Obesity
The science of a Healthy Life
You already know how we can rejuvenate and strengthen the health and fitness level, and physical size of our brain even at age 85 by lifting challenging weights on a regular weekly basis. ( read the 'a healthy biceps equals a healthy brain article' )
But how about the opposite?.
Will sedentary living and over eating harm or physically affect our brain earlier on in life in a negative way?.
The answer is, of course, an absolute 'hell yes'.
Body & Mind baby.
Our own lifestyle choices, and the resulting health and body consequences of those behavioral factors, such as overeating and a lack of continued exercise, will cause physical changes in the brain that resemble the changes in our body and health.
On one hand, you have all the positive stuff, such as how 85-year-old people suffering from a slight case of dementia can grow a more fit and healthy brain as their body grows younger and stronger through an uptake in daily physical activity.
But, the opposite holds equally true. And they do so, no matter age.
Several independent from each other studies last few years have clearly highlighted how a lack of healthy food and physical activity can cause the brain to age and decline in health and capacity together with the rest of the body years and decades ahead of its chronological age.
Which, of course, is the opposing side of the coin of what happens when you eat healthy food in healthy amounts together with participating in daily recurring physical activity.
Case 1.
A recent brain scanning study including more than 500 participants confirmed that being out of shape ( sedentary living and obesity ) is associated with a quicker and bigger decline of brain health and capacity.
In what can be described as roughly middle-aged people, the obesity-sedentary-related changes corresponded directly to an estimated increase in biological brain age of 10 years above the actual chronological age of the participant.
A stark contrast to fit and active people who decrease their biological age in body and mind.
Case 2.
University of Arizona examined data from more than 20,000 participants and they found that greater body mass from sedentary living was associated with a decline in memory function. As well as with higher levels of inflammatory protein.
Case 3.
Obesity is known to activate microglia.
Microglia is our brain’s resident immune cells. Sadly the outcome of that activation, when it happens due to obesity and unhealthy sedentary lifestyle choices is that they strip synapses from the hippocampus. A change that happens no matter age, even young kids will be affected the same way in body and mind.
Linking an increase in inflammation associated with obesity and other unhealthy choices to the gray matter brain volume reduction of sedentary lifestyle choices which can be seen in other studies.
Yes, obesity actually shrinks gray matter brain volume.
Just as how an increase in physical strength training and other healthy choices has been shown to increase the physical size and health of our brain together with a healthier and more fit body.
If you remember a previous article of mine from a few months ago, in that article I talked about how participating in weekly challenging strength training actually increase the physical size and health and capacity of the brain. The exact same way your health improves as your strength and lean muscle mass, and cardiovascular capacity grows, so do the health, age and fitness capacity of our brain.
And likewise, when you allow your fitness and health to go south, the health and capacity and biological age of your brain will follow suit.
As they say, body & mind baby.
Body and mind, as we do to our body, we do to our brain, treat em well because that biceps, ass, and brain are one and the same and hopefully that will provide a bit of additional inspiration and energy for maintaining that finely tuned body of yours all through life with the needed workouts and physical activity and healthy food and life choices that you deserve.
Links can be found to a few studies down below that relates to this article.
It was the year
4.5 Billion
[ "and
with the rising
sun
we turned,
the pages
of a brand new day" ]
Our Paean
Out of my, shallow grave
You raise me from the soil,
with your
haunting words that play
on the senses of the
imaginary, With strokes of life
that warms my soul
with your tongue
that is so very skilled and sensuous,
You call me up
To dance beneath
the ever tree
to the right of you
For all
eternity
But once I stand,
you raise your head, from down
your
knees
And while my hand was
not
thought, to be
yours, to hold, beyond the grave forlorn
In the shadows
Of each silent night, we found a lease
To play, like the moon
and roaming
wolf that follow close
to each other
like
two birds, of feathers,
we are now playing tag
Eternal
as one we rush
through mist
on top
what is, but broken fortress
From within, A hymn, of bursting hearts,
perhaps it comes from down, the beavers
river, curled up dreams like baleful stars
with raging foam of moving oceans
that greet our
last, few steps
like stones and soil, we flow together
From mountains top
That fall, so high, back to the crust
of a thousand sea
Until once more,
the light
Of day, comes to cease
Our lustful games, the sun that passed
the night
Beneath our
sprawling tree
Come good morning
To say, goodbye,
You raise me soon
Enough, to dance
Another night,
and
together
We stayed, remain, we fall so slow,
we run with stars we swim,
climb and bleed,
venture forth
for all eternity
Beneath this seldom tree
Connect with me
in this life of ours scattered across this tiny sphere
Views from Earth by Mike Koontz
My photography and writing as it is represented on G+
Healthier living, Fitness and Health, the facts and science by Mike Koontz
My popular health and fitness column on G+
Contemporary life in the Anthropocene by Mike Koontz
Random thoughts on life column over at G+
My personal fav print, 'a norse summer song' at Printler, check it out and buy it today :).
Fine art print by Mike Koontz, Printler.com
Scandinavian.Fitness, are you in need of a sound and fierce fitness voice?. Get in touch with this Viking.
Scandinavian.Fitness by Mike
Related article, Fitness School, question 1.
primary targeted muscle, the little helpers and stabilizer muscles.
Writer and fine art photography
Mike Koontz
To the daisy that is my sun and inspiration
Medium
Buy my living room fine art
Scandinavian Fitness
