How obesity affects the relationship between Brain and Body!

Agrima Bhatt, Rajasthan University

Obesity has become one of the world’s most serious health issues. Every year obesity has been the leading cause of more than 4.6 million premature deaths. It has transitioned from being a concern of wealthy countries to one that affects people of all income levels. It affects more than 35.7 percent of adults and 17 percent of adolescents between the age of 2 to 19 in the United States and is on the rise globally, with more than 400 million adults classified as obese.

Obesity has been known as a risk factor for several severe life-threatening diseases. Heart diseases, diabetes, cancer have been seen in cases suffering from obesity or overweight. Obesity was responsible for 8% of fatalities worldwide in 2017, up from 4.5 percent in 1990. 

Aside from the developed countries, obesity is also popular in many middle-income countries such as Eastern Europe, Central Asia, North Africa, and Latin America. Obesity was responsible for more than 15% of deaths in 2017 in the above-mentioned countries. The mortality rate is also higher in such countries as compared to the USA, UK, etc. because these countries have a much poorer health infrastructure and facilities. In developed countries, this number stays below 8-10%. However, obesity prevalence has risen dramatically during the last 50 years, reaching epidemic proportions. The obesity pandemic appears to be instigated by the changes currently happening in the global food system, with more intake of fat and cholesterol as well as enhanced sedentary behavior.

Effect of Obesity on the Brain and Body:

Obesity has been linked to adverse changes in brain architecture and function, as well as cognitive deficits, according to new research. Diet and physical activity levels are the two most commonly addressed habits for weight loss. On neurocognitive health, these practices may have independent or synergistic impacts. Without any other circumstances, obesity can result in a clear reduction in brain size. Obese people have a 2.4 percent reduction in brain parenchymal volume when compared to people with a normal BMI.

There is evident proof available that an obesogenic Western diet causes neuroinflammatory damage to the brain, which leads to increased appetite in the person’s lifetime. Neuroinflammation is becoming recognized as a pathogenic process in several disorders, including obesity. Additionally, abdominal obesity is linked to a reduction in short-term memory. When compared to controls, patients with abdominal obesity and accompanying metabolic syndrome have a 15% reduction in mean grey matter cerebral blood flow. 

TSPO and its promising role:

Translocator protein 18 kDa is a multifunctional outer-mitochondrial membrane transporter protein. It participates in the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, helps in the regulation of reactive oxygen species, functions to produce cellular energy, and is the limiting factor in the utilization of cholesterol. The deregulation of TSPO in fat tissues may prove to be a hallmark of obesity-related disease pathogenesis. Overnutrition-induced TSPO modifications were also synthesized, indicating that the brain is actively responsive to the metabolic environment of the individual.

Together, all of the studies suggest a promising role for TSPO in facilitating the homeostasis of adipose tissues.

Also read: Sodium induced inflammation: A meta-analytical review

Reference:

1.  O Wang, J., & Beecher, K. (2021). TSPO: an emerging role in appetite for a therapeutically promising biomarker. Open Biology, 11(8), 210173. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsob.210173

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Author info:

Agrima Bhatt is an undergraduate student studying BSc. Biotechnology in Jaipur, Rajasthan. She is a science and research enthusiast who also loves to write articles and short snippets.

Some of her published articles at BioXone are:

1. https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/molecular-mechanisms-underlying-virescent-mutation-in-cotton/
2. https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/multi-angle-projection-microscope-a-novel-imaging-technique/
3. https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/scientists-develop-novel-cholera-vaccine-from-rice-grains/
4. https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/ai-predicts-the-relation-between-viruses-and-mammals/