Extra pounds can actually shrink your brain: For every two units your BMI (body mass index) exceeds 25, your left hippocampus shrinks by nearly 1 percent.
Brain diseases like Alzheimer’s are associated with early and fast hippocampus shrinkage. So at that rate, a moderately obese man may tip into dementia two years earlier than a lean guy.
Here’s why: Fat can produce inflammatory molecules that are toxic to neurons.
Related: 5 Ways to Finally Lose Your Spare Tire—and Keep It Off For Good
Plus, a higher BMI predisposes you to diabetes and heart problems—both of which can damage blood vessels in the brain and raise your risk of dementia.
Not sure of your BMI? It’s relatively straightforward equation that measures a person's body fat by comparing their weight to their height:
[(Weight in pounds) / (Height in inches) (Height in inches)] x 703
You can also figure out your BMI without doing any math, by logging on to this online calculator.
Here are the four categories you can fall into:
*18.4 or lower: Underweight
*18.5 to 24.9: Normal weight
*25 to 29.9: Overweight
*30 or higher: Obese
If you land in the overweight or obese categories, the best way to keep your brain healthy is to keep your body moving.
A review in Aging & Mental Health concluded that people who had the highest levels of physical activity had a 38 percent lower risk of developing brain diseases than those with the lower levels of exercise.
To lose the extra weight fast, start with the 30-minute metabolic conditioning—MetCon—workout from Men’s Health Fitness Director BJ Gaddour shown in the video above.
It uses resistance training exercises to work your heart just as hard as your skeletal muscles. And since rest periods are short, your heart rate will stay elevated so you can maximize your calorie burn per minute.
For a full fat-loss MetCon training plan, check out THE 21-DAY METASHRED today.
