Among the health benefits of shedding a few extra pounds is increased brain performance, according to an April 14 Time magazine article.

John Gunstad, associate professor at Kent State University’s Department of Psychology, headed a team of researchers who found losing excess weight might improve cognitive functions, such as attention and memory.

In the study, the researchers examined memory and attention in a group of 150 overweight participants. Some of the participants underwent weight-loss surgery and others did not, according to the article.

‘We decided to originally focus on weight-loss surgery patients, as they lose a very large amount of weight in a relatively short period of time,’ Gunstad said in a phone interview. ‘We thought that if there might be an effect, a benefit for the brain from weight loss, that we’re most likely going to see it here first.’

When the overweight volunteers were tested on their mental skills at the beginning of the study, about 24 percent of the patients showed impaired learning, and 23 percent showed signs of poor memory recall, according to the article.

The 109 patients who underwent surgery shed an average of 17 percent of their initial body weight and boosted their scores to the average or above-average level for memory performance by 12 weeks of follow-up, according to the study, published in the journal Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases in October 2010.

‘We were cautiously optimistic going in that we would see a positive effect from the weight loss, but it was still great to see it,’ Gunstad said in the Time article.

Among the 41 obese control participants who did not undergo weight-loss surgery, scores for cognitive functions plummeted even further than at baseline assessments, according to the study.

Gunstad is optimistic about the results of the study because they suggest that more traditional weight-loss methods can have a positive relationship with cognitive functions, according to an April 12 Kent State news release.

‘One of the things about obesity, relative to other medical conditions, is that something can be done to fix it,’ Gunstad said in the release. ‘Our thought was, if some of these effects are reversible, then we’re really on to something — that it might be an opportunity for individuals who have memory or concentration problems to make those things better in a short amount of time. And that’s what we found.’

These findings relate to the eating and exercise habits of young adults in college — even if they have a healthy body weight, Gunstad said in the interview. 

‘For young healthy adults who decide to exercise on a regular basis, who become more cardiovascular fit, abilities to concentrate and solve problems actually all get better,’ Gunstad said. ‘Even if they’re not overweight, the process of becoming more fit seems to enhance brain function.’

The research cost approximately $1.5 million and was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Health. The team’s next project will analyze whether behavioral weight loss has the same effect on cognitive functions as surgical weight loss does, Gunstad said. He said he anticipates similar results.

‘The goal at this point is, really, to better understand how weight loss more broadly might influence brain function,’ Gunstad said. ‘We want to be able to look at people who are losing weight for behavioral needs — so people who eat healthier and exercise — if you could get the same results.’ 

chlevin@syr.edu

Published on April 25, 2011 at 12:00 pm