According to a study overweight people have bad memories. I'm sure there will be overweight people who look at this study and think how thin they would be if they could just remember things. What exactly does a study like this mean?
“I'm hungry.”
“You just ate an entire meal about twenty minutes ago.”
“Oh, yeah, sorry, I forgot.”
Are Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, and other diet groups now going to promote their weight loss systems by saying “Lose weight by remembering what you just ate.”
Below are excerpts from the story in bold. My valuable insights are in italics.
Overweight young adults may have poorer episodic memory - the ability to recall past events - than their peers, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge, adding to increasing evidence of a link between memory and overeating.
How about overweight older adults? I guess nobody cares if you're old and fat. You don't even get included in a study about fat people. The young get all the attention. Could this link to memory and overeating actually prove fat people are very dedicated to eating? They could be remarkable at remembering where food is located and how to make it. They might forget to stop eating but may be able to remember very detailed recipes.
Obesity has been linked with dysfunction of the hippocampus, an area of the brain involved in memory and learning, and of the frontal lobe, the part of the brain involved in decision making, problem solving and emotions, suggesting that it might also affect memory; however, evidence for memory impairment in obesity is currently limited.
(Sarcasm alert) Can you imagine fat people saying “I'd like to be thin, but my dam “hippocampus” is messed up and making me look like a hippo.” There is a limitation on evidence of memory impairment in obesity. Obviously not limited enough to prevent a study like this from being published. This study only helps fat people who want to make excuses for their weight. Interesting how this alleged poor memory in fat people doesn't involve them forgetting to eat. Then they wouldn't be fat, and no studies would be done about them.
The researchers tested 50 participants aged 18-35, with body mass indexes (BMIs) ranging from 18 through to 51 - a BMI of 18-25 is considered healthy, 25-30 overweight, and over 30 obese. The participants took part in a memory test known as the 'Treasure-Hunt Task', where they were asked to hide items around complex scenes (for example, a desert with palm trees) across two 'days'. They were then asked to remember which items they had hidden, where they had hidden them, and when they were hidden. Overall, the team found an association between higher BMI and poorer performance on the tasks.
I guess that if you test 50 people that is pretty good evidence of something. Nothing of any value, but certainly something worth ignoring. What did they offer the fat people to participate in the study, free all-you-can-eat lunch buffets? The researchers did this all wrong. They asked the fat people to hide common items around a complex scene. If they had told them to hide food items and for every food item they remembered, they would get a free dinner at the restaurant of their choice. Oh, I bet the fat people's memories would kick into high gear in that situation.
"We're not saying that overweight people are necessarily more forgetful," cautions Dr. Cheke, "but if these results are generalizable to memory in everyday life, then it could be that overweight people are less able to vividly relive details of past events - such as their past meals. Research on the role of memory in eating suggests that this might impair their ability to use memory to help regulate consumption.
"In other words, it is possible that becoming overweight may make it harder to keep track of what and how much you have eaten, potentially making you more likely to overeat."
Fat people forget details of the past event such as their last meal? Huh? I like this logic. (Sarcasm alert) Maybe they could do a study that shows careless people are impaired and forget past events such as paying their bills. Late charges and past due fees are only punishing those who can't help it. How about people who drink too much forget details like when they had their last drink? Is it possible wives forget past events such as the last time they had sex with their husbands? Why are fat people the only ones who are victims of having bad memories? I think my memory makes it harder for me to keep track of the things my wife tells me to do around the house. I'll tell her I know there is such a study but because of my memory impairment, I just can't remember where I saw it. It's worth a try.
Here is a link to the story.
Study About Overweight Linked To Memory
