Improved memory function 12 weeks after bariatric surgery

Growing evidence has shown that obesity is associated with poor neurocognitive outcomes. This is not unexpected considering that many obesity related diseases have negative effect on cognitive abilities.

Bariatric surgery has been shown to be an effective intervention for morbid obesity and can result in improvement of many co-morbid medical conditions that are associated with cognitive dysfunction, but, the effects of bariatric surgery on cognition are unknown.



Dali - The Persistence of Memory



To answer this question, investigators from several american hospitals, performed a study with 150 obese patients. 109 patientes were treated by surgery and the other 49 were not operated.

These 150 subjects completed a cognitive evaluation at baseline and at 12 weeks of follow-up.

Group comparisons using repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance showed that the surgery patients had improved memory performance at 12 weeks of follow-up; however, the memory performance of the obese controls had actually declined.

The present results suggest that cognitive impairment is common in bariatric surgery patients, although these deficits might be at least partly reversible.

The original paper can be found in Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases.

A new anti-obesity campaign from England:  Change4Life.

As part of this campaign, Pepsi Co launched its own iniciative: Play4Life.

This project has included Thierry Henry, from Barcelona  and Frank Lampard, Chelsea's player.

They both state: "Help your kids stay fit and healthy. Get them up and active for 60 minutes a day."

Maternal body mass index and the risk of fetal and infant death

Early pregnancy obesity (body mass index, BMI, ≥30 kg/m²) carries significant health implications.

A new study shows the impact of obesity in fetal and infant health. The results show the association between early pregnancy BMI and the risk of fetal and infant death in pregnancies not affected by congenital anomalies or pre-gestational diabetes.

Data on singleton pregnancies delivered during 2003–2005 at five hospitals were used. Logistic regression models were used to determine the crude and adjusted odds ratios (aOR) of a spontaneous fetal death (≥20 weeks gestation) and infant death (aged up to 1 year), among underweight (BMI <18.5 kg/m²), overweight (BMI 25–29.9 kg/m²) and obese women compared with women of recommended BMI (18.5–24.9 kg/m²).

Obese women were at significantly increased risks of both fetal death [aOR = 2.32] and infant death [aOR = 1.97]. Continuous analyses revealed a V-shaped relationship between BMI and the risk of fetal and infant death, with a minimum risk at 23 kg/m², and significantly increased risk thereafter for both fetal death.

Except for higher rates of pre-eclampsia among stillbirths, no specific cause of death could explain the increased odds of fetal and infant death among the obese.

This study concludes that early pregnancy obesity is significantly associated with fetal and infant death, independent of the known relationships with congenital anomalies and maternal pre-gestational diabetes.

Link to the study in the journal Human Reproduction

New York City anti-obesity campaign