Obese people have 8% less brain tissue than people of normal weight. Overweight people have 4% less brain tissue than people of normal weight.
The parts of the brain that degenerated for overweight people are very important, it wasn’t brain mass that we can spare.
Here are the areas effected:
Frontal and temporal lobes: Critical for planning and memory
Anterior cingulate gyrus: Responsible for attention and executive functions
Hippocampus: Important for long-term memory
Basal ganglia: Essential for proper movement and coordination
Furthermore, the brains of overweight people looked 8 years older than those of people of normal weight, and the brains of obese people looked a whopping 16 years older!
[link to exploringthemind.com]