If your weight reaches this number, your brain may age 12 years earlier?

A recent study claims that a certain weight is equivalent to 12 years of brain aging, and that obesity can cause brain shrinkage and increased white matter lesions. Is this true?

BMI> 26.2 Brain aging 12 years earlier

BMI, or body mass index, is an internationally recognized method to measure the degree of obesity in adults.

BMI=weight/height squared (international unit: kg/㎡). In China, BMI≥24 is considered overweight, and ≥28 is considered obese.

In March 2024, Capital Medical University, Tsinghua University, Kailuan General Hospital and other research institutions jointly published a research paper.

The study was based on data from the Kailuan Study (KLS), a multicenter, long-term follow-up, community-based cohort study of 1,195 participants who were followed up for 16 years starting in 2006 and underwent a neuroimaging examination after 2020.

The results showed that higher cumulative BMI was causally associated with reduced gray matter volume, increased white matter lesion volume, and abnormal microstructural integrity in the brain.

For people younger than 45 years, a cumulative BMI > 26.2 is equivalent to 12 years of brain aging in terms of change in brain volume.

In people aged 60 years and older, higher cumulative BMI was associated with larger white matter lesion volume.

In summary, this study shows that high levels of BMI are not good for brain health, especially in people under 45 years old; maintaining a healthy BMI throughout adulthood is very important for protecting brain health.

Eat, drink, move, sleep

Do this

The "three highs" have been reduced and the belly has become smaller

1

To lose weight, are you drinking the right water?

If you want to lose weight successfully, drinking water is very important. You can't do without drinking water. Unfortunately, some people think they get fat by "drinking" and therefore dare not drink water.

In fact, as long as there is no problem with your kidneys and you do not drink more than 4000 ml of water a day without excreting water, you generally will not gain weight from "drinking" and it will not affect your health.

Recommended daily water intake for people losing weight⬇️

Generally speaking, for people who are losing weight, the recommended daily water intake is 2000 to 2500 ml.

Drink water before and during meals:

It can occupy part of the stomach capacity, reduce hunger and thus reduce food intake.

Drink water after meals:

It can help dilute the taste in your mouth and reduce the chance of re-eating.

Note: No matter when you drink water, drink it slowly and in small sips, and do not drink more than 250 ml at a time.

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2

To lose weight, are you eating the right three meals a day?

Breakfast: A key meal that needs attention

Breakfast is a crucial part of weight loss and cannot be ignored. If you skip breakfast, you may have a strong appetite at lunch and eat more. In addition, the early morning is when the human body secretes more hormones. Therefore, you should not only eat breakfast, but also eat it well.

Breakfast suggestions for weight loss:

1. Mainly eat meat, eggs, milk, and soy products to get more protein;

2. Try to eat less fat, as too much fat can easily make the gastrointestinal tract feel sticky;

3. Carbohydrates should mainly be coarse grains, such as whole wheat bread, sugar-free cereals, corn, etc.

Lunch: Eat until you are 80% full

You don't need to limit your food intake for lunch. You can eat until you are about 80% full, but you need to pay attention to the choice and combination of food.

Suggestions for lunch for weight loss:

1. The staple food is divided into two halves. One half can choose staple food with high dietary fiber content, such as corn and sweet potato, and the other half can choose refined grain staple food, such as rice;

2. Choose meat with less salt and pair it with vegetables.

Dinner: Avoid extreme eating

It is not advisable to eat too much at dinner, but it is also not advisable not to eat at all or to eat very little food, such as only eating a mouthful of vegetables. This may increase appetite the next morning, and the absorption of food may become better, which is not conducive to weight loss.

Weight loss dinner suggestions:

1. Appropriately limit excessive refined carbohydrates, such as rice, noodles, etc.;

2. You can eat 50 to 100 grams of pure lean meat + about 250 grams of vegetables.

3

To lose weight, have you exercised?

●Hold your head high

When sitting, keep your body tense and straight, so that "sitting" itself is a kind of exercise.

In addition, when sitting, you can do kicking and leg stretching exercises for every 40 minutes to complete aerobic and resistance exercises, which will help promote blood circulation and achieve a certain weight loss effect.

●Aerobic exercise: kicking exercise

Leaning on a chair with your hands, and kicking your left and right legs forward alternately for 30 seconds, you can basically achieve the effect of aerobic training.

●Resistance training: leg stretches

Lean on a chair with your hands, straighten your legs, and then do the cycling movement for 30 seconds, which can basically achieve the effect of resistance training.

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4

To lose weight, are you sleeping properly?

Poor sleep and insomnia may have adverse effects on weight, affect the body's overall metabolism, accelerate insulin resistance, and increase the likelihood of eating.

It is recommended to go to bed before 23:00 and not play with your phone before going to bed

If you have been looking at electronic screens or playing with your mobile phone before going to bed, the excitability of the cerebral cortex will continue for a long time after you fall asleep, and the brain may still work continuously, which will affect the quality of sleep.

What to do if you have trouble falling asleep?

You can relax 5 minutes before going to bed, take deep breaths, and slowly soothe your mood and brain. Or you can keep the room dark and listen to music to help the hypothalamus secrete melatonin and help you fall asleep.

Health Tips

1. BMI>26.2, the brain ages 12 years prematurely.

2. Generally speaking, for people who are losing weight, the recommended daily water intake is 2000-2500 ml.

3. To lose weight, are you eating the right three meals a day?

Breakfast: A key meal that needs attention;

Lunch: Eat until you are 80% full;

Dinner: Avoid extreme eating.

4. When sitting, keep your body tight and straight. After sitting for 40 minutes, you can do kicking and stretching exercises to achieve a certain weight loss effect.

5. People who are losing weight are advised to go to bed before 23:00 and not play with mobile phones before going to bed.

Planning and production

Source: CCTV Life Circle

Author: Zeng Chang, deputy chief physician of Health Management Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University

Chen WeiChief Physician, Department of Clinical Nutrition, Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Reviewer: Tang Qin, Director and Researcher of the Science Popularization Department of the Chinese Medical Association

Editor: Yang Yaping

Proofread by Xu Lai and Lin Lin

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