A link between obesity and poor episodic memory has been found, according to a study conducted by The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. A test of 50 people identified as “overweight” has returned results indicating that those with a higher BMI have a diminished capacity to remember single instance experiences.
The abstract for the study makes the point that obesity is an international epidemic, associated with a multitude of physical, cognitive, and psychological dysfunctions. The shortening of life expectancy and the associated increase in the cost of healthcare in developed and developing nations is cited as a reason for the importance of the research. While the effect of obesity on memory has been studied in the past, results have been mixed. This study, however, focused on episodic memory, rather than the kind of memory that is associated with early life recall or general knowledge.
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In the study, participants were asked to participate in what basically amounted to a one-person “treasure hunt”, where they would be required to hide a series of objects on a computer screen and then attempt to recall where they had been placed. Obese participants performed significantly worse at this task, leading researchers to conclude that there may very well be a link between obesity and a degradation in episodic memory. At the end of the study, it was determined that thinner people were up to 15 percent better at exercising this kind of memory.
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“If they have a less strong memory of a recent meal, with a less strong impact in the mind, then they may have less ability to regulate how much they eat later on.”
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The caution of scientific rigor aside, though, it seems that it is possible that the mind has a larger part in the regulation of appetite and food cravings than originally thought. The old dictum of chewing one’s food carefully and paying attention to what one is eating may indeed be sound health advice after all.
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