If your waistline’s getting bigger, it means your brain’s getting smaller. That’s the importanceof a recent study that found a link between belly size and brain size. In fact, the weight-related drop in brain volume is so dramatic that for every 1-point increase in body mass index, scientists say you’ll experience a 1-point decrease in memory.

I find that the general way of thinking in South Africa is that the richer you are the bigger your belly should be. Probably because people have the financial means to buy more take away foods, cold drinks, processed foods and sweets, biscuits, cakes and eating out more and one of the big ones- drinking a lot more. 

Belly fat has long been thought to be particularly bad for your heart, but now, a new study adds more evidence to the idea that it may also be bad for your brain. Research done by professor Mark Hammer found that obesity (people with a BMI over 30) especially around the middle may be linked to brain shrinkage in specific regions of the brain. A high waist hip ration showed lower brain volumes of especially grey matter, compared to people with a healthy weight.

Waist-to-hip ratio compares the waist circumference to that of the hip. In men, obesity is when the ratio is 0.90 or higher, and in women it’s 0.85. In future the researchers say measuring BMI and waist-to-hip ratio may help determine brain health.

So, what is the impact? Gray matter is a component of the central nervous system that is responsible for processing information and controls emotion, memory, and intellect. It is responsible for hearing, feeling, smelling, seeing, self-control and muscle control.

Why would belly fat shrink your brain?

• Inflammation: Belly fat –accumulates around your organs that release hormones that cause inflammation which can damage arteries and enter your liver, affecting how your body breaks down sugars and fats. Inflammation also damages brain cells.

• Diabetes and insulin resistance — Both these conditions are linked to obesity, and diabetes and higher fasting glucose levels are linked to lower total brain volume.

• Beta – amyloid. A strong connection was found between BMI and high levels of beta-amyloid, the protein that tends to accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, causing plaque build-up. Beta-amyloid may destroy nerve cells, contributing to the cognitive and behavioural problems typical of the disease.

• Mental health: may also suffer from excess belly fat, which has been linked to conditions such as anxiety and depression.

• Food “addiction.” At the University of California researchers found that gaining weight makes us less sensitive to the brain’s happiness-boosting chemical, dopamine. So, just like drug addicts, overweight people need to increasingly eat more food to get the same level of satisfaction they got before.

• An interesting fact is that extra fat makes us more impulsive. Researchers compared the MRIs of overweight people to thin ones. The result? The region of the brain that controls impulses is smaller in heavier people. And the smaller the area, the more likely we are to eat impulsively. Which can turn overeating into a vicious circle of overeating, weight gain, and less impulse control.

Guys it’s time to trim your waistline. We gals also would like to look at some good bodies this summer.