XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.atheism, rec.arts.tv   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns, or.politics   
   From: x@y.com   
      
   How Being Fat Makes You Stupid   
      
   by Scott RosenfieldPublished: Oct 28, 2012 12:00 AM EDT   
   this image is not available   
   Media Platforms Design Team   
      
   Packing on the pounds isn't just bad for your body—it's bad for your brain.   
   According to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, the brains of obese   
   people work harder than those of normal weight people to achieve the same   
   results.   
      
   Researchers quizzed 29 people who were having fMRIs and noticed a trend:   
   The connections between the brain parts responsible for memory and   
   decision-making were hyperactive in overweight people, but functioned   
   normally in average weight people, says study author Timothy Verstynen,   
   Ph.D., a professor at Carnegie Mellon University.   
      
   That's because high blood pressure and inflammation—which go hand-in-hand   
   with obesity—irritate your brain's communication systems, making it harder   
   for messages to come through, says Verstynen. It's like your brain is   
   trying to make a call when the phone lines are down.   
   More From Men's Health   
   this image is not available   
      
   And it's a vicious cycle: The damage is particularly bad in areas   
   responsible for controlling impulsive behaviors, like skipping dessert,   
   says Verstynen. So your brain is making you fat (giving into the dessert),   
   and then being fat is changing your brain, he adds.   
      
   Here are three more ways that being fat—and eating fatty food—messes with   
   your brain. (Get rid of your gut for good with Speed Shred, the all-new   
   workout DVD series from Men's Health!)   
      
   1. It makes you less manly.   
   Say goodbye to your T levels if you're obese. A 2012 study in the journal   
   Clinical Endocrinology found that testosterone levels in obese teenagers   
   were 40 to 50 percent lower than those of healthy guys the same age. That's   
   because fat cells can convert testosterone into estrogen and interfere with   
   how your brain calls the production of more testosterone. And low levels of   
   the hormone can do everything from quash your sex life by lowering your   
   libido to weakening your muscles. (Want to boost your levels? Pick up   
   Testosterone Transformation to build muscle, boost sexual vitality, and   
   reclaim your mental edge!)   
      
   2. It gives you the blues.   
   A 2010 study of 58,000 people found that obesity increases your risk of   
   depression by 55 percent. Blame both physiology and psychology: Obesity   
   causes inflammation, which research has shown can cause depression by   
   damaging the brain's circuitry. And the not-so-secret culprit? Fast food.   
   According to a 2012 report in Public Health Nutrition, the top 25 percent   
   of fast food eaters are more than 50 percent likely to suffer from   
   depression.   
      
   3. It causes dementia.   
   Being obese in your middle age means you could be four times as likely to   
   develop dementia when you're older, according to a 2011 study in the   
   journal Neurology. Researchers tracked the weight of 6,500 people over the   
   age of 65 and found a link between those who were obese and those who had   
   dementia. It's believed that obesity-induced inflammation could actually   
   kill part of your brain's circuitry that's needed for memory.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)