![]() ![]() ![]() Prof Jason Halford, President of the European Association for the Study of Obesity, said many people with a weight problem had “weaker regulatory control of eating behaviour” - meaning hunger was often on their mind. Independent experts suggested gastric bands could improve mental performance by reducing how much time obese people spend thinking about food. Patients were given memory, speech and attention tests before gastric bypass surgery in 2018 and after in 2021.Īround 40 patients also had MRI scans before and after to see how their brain structure had changed. The latest study, presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Dublin, looked at how bariatric surgery influenced patients’ mental performance. Previous research has linked weight loss with improved brain power, allowing people to better prioritise tasks, filter distractions and control impulses. Up to 7,000 adults have bariatric surgery - the collective term for gastric band and other weight loss operations - every year. “So yes, morbid obesity is a risk factor for dementia.” She said: “Many studies have shown that vascular problems present in morbid obesity are risk factors for the development of neurodegeneration, cognitive decline and dementia. Losing weight after the surgery might also reduce the chance of conditions such as dementia later down the line, she said. “Just 15 per cent are still on antihypertensives, compared to 35 per cent before surgery, meaning blood pressure lowers significantly.” While there were no obvious changes to the brain at the end of the study, better blood flow to the brain from lower blood pressure could play a part, she said.ĭr Kiliaan said: “People exercise more and have improved mood after surgery. Study author Dr Amanda Kiliaan, of Radboud University Medical Center, said their memory and ability to shift attention “were still improving two years after the surgery”. ![]() Obese patients who underwent such operations were found to perform better on cognitive tests afterwards, the Dutch study found. Weight loss surgery could improve the memory, as well as the waistline, research has found. ![]()
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