Studies indicate that diets high in fat can quickly impair cognitive functions in older adults. This can lead to significant memory issues and reduced thinking capabilities after just a short duration of time. This decline may be linked to heightened inflammation in the brain.
In the study, researchers fed different groups of young and old rats a high-fat diet for either 3 days or 3 months. The objective was to assess the speed of brain changes compared to bodily changes when consuming an unhealthy diet. The primary focus of this research was on the direct effects of the diet on the brain.
The findings revealed that after three months on a fatty diet, all the rats experienced metabolic issues, gut inflammation, and significant changes in gut bacteria, compared to those on a standard diet. In contrast, during the initial three-day period of the high-fat diet, there were no significant metabolic or gut alterations.
However, regarding brain changes, the study found that older rats, regardless of whether they were on the high-fat diet for three months or just three days, displayed poor results on memory tests and exhibited adverse inflammatory changes in the brain. Without comparing the two timelines, it would have been impossible to determine that brain inflammation is the primary cause of memory impairments induced by a high-fat diet.
The high-fat diets result in obesity-related changes in both young and old animals, but young animals seem more resistant to the memory-affecting consequences to the diet. This resilience is likely due to their capacity to trigger compensatory anti-inflammatory responses, which are absent in older animals.
The study revealed that significant neuroinflammatory changes occur within just three days, well before any signs of obesity appear. While unhealthy diets and obesity are connected, they are not indivisible. The findings challenge the notion that diet-induced inflammation in the aging brain is primarily caused by obesity.
To view the original scientific study click below:
Obesity-associated memory impairment and neuroinflammation precede widespread peripheral perturbations in aged rats
