肚子上那一圈“游泳圈”令人头疼，而且腹部的脂肪堆积过多，并不是肥胖那么简单，一项新的研究为腹部脂肪可能对大脑有害的观点提供了更多证据。

关键词：科普；肥胖；大脑；译文；

Credit: Shutterstock

    Belly fat has long been thought to be particularly bad for your heart, but now, a new study adds more evidence to the idea that it may also be bad for your brain.

  长期以来，人们一直认为腹部脂肪对你的心脏特别不利，但现在，一项新的研究为腹部脂肪可能对大脑有害的观点提供了更多证据。

    The study, from the United Kingdom, found that people who were obese and had a high waist-to-hip ratio (a measure of belly fat) had slightly lower brain volumes, on average, compared with people who were a healthy weight. Specifically, belly fat was linked with lower volumes of gray matter, the brain tissue that contains nerve cells.

  这项来自英国的研究发现，平均而言，与体重正常的人相比，体重超标、腰臀比(衡量腹部脂肪的指标)较高的人的脑容量略低。具体而言，腹部脂肪与灰质含量较低有关，灰质是一种含有神经细胞的脑组织。

    'Our research looked at a large group of people and found obesity, specifically around the middle, may be linked with brain shrinkage,' lead study author Mark Hamer, a professor at Loughborough University's School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences in Leicestershire, England, said in a statement.

  “我们的研究观察了大量人群，发现肥胖，特别是中间部位的肥胖，可能与大脑萎缩有关” ，该研究的主要作者、拉夫堡大学运动、锻炼和健康科学学院教授Mark Hamer在一份声明中说。

    Lower brain volume, or brain shrinkage, has been linked with an increased risk of memory decline and dementia. 

  较低的脑容量或脑萎缩与记忆力下降和痴呆的风险增加有关。

    The new findings, published today (Jan. 9) in the journal Neurology, suggest that the combination of obesity (as measured by body mass index, or BMI) and a high waist-to-hip ratio may be a risk factor for brain shrinkage, the researchers said.

  今天（1月9日）发表在《神经病学》杂志上的新发现表明，肥胖（通过体重指数或BMI衡量）和高腰臀比的组合可能是脑萎缩的一个危险因素，研究人员说。

    However, the study found only an association between belly fat and lower brain volume, and cannot prove that carrying more fat around the waist actually causes brain shrinkage. It could be that people with lower volumes of gray matter in certain brain areas are at a higher risk of obesity. Future studies are needed to tease out the reasons for the link.

  然而，该研究只发现腹部脂肪和大脑体积较小之间存在联系，并不能证明腰部脂肪过多确实会导致大脑萎缩。这可能是因为某些大脑区域灰质含量较低的人患肥胖症的风险较高。未来的研究需要梳理出这种联系的原因。

Dangerous fat

危险的脂肪

    Belly fat, also called visceral fat, is fat that's stored deep within the abdominal cavity. It's tied to greater health risks than subcutaneous fat, or fat that's stored just under the skin. Previous studies have linked visceral fat with a higher risk of heart disease (including heart attack and stroke), Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and premature death, according to the Mayo Clinic.

  腹部脂肪，也称为内脏脂肪，是储存在腹腔深处的脂肪。与皮下脂肪或储存在皮肤下的脂肪相比，它与更大的健康风险相关。根据梅奥诊所的研究，之前的研究已经发现，内脏脂肪与心脏病（包括心脏病发作和中风），2型糖尿病，高血压和过早死亡的高风险存在联系。

    Some previous studies have also found a link between visceral fat or a high waist-to-hip ratio and lower brain volume, but these studies tended to be small and did not look at the combined effect of BMI and waist-to-hip ratio.

  之前的一些研究也发现内脏脂肪或高腰臀比和较低的脑容量之间存在联系，但这些研究往往规模较小，并没有考虑BMI和腰臀比的综合影响。

    In the new study, the researchers analyzed information from more than 9,600 people living in the United Kingdom, with an average age of 55. Participants had their BMI and waist-to-hip ratio measured, and underwent an MRI to determine their brain volumes.

  在这项新研究中，研究人员分析了9,600多名，平均年龄为55岁的英国人的信息。研究人员测量了参与者的BMI和腰臀比，并进行了核磁共振成像(MRI)检查，以确定他们的脑容量。

    The study found that people with both a high BMI and high waist-to-hip ratio had the lowest brain volumes, compared with people who had just a high BMI (but not a high waist-to-hip ratio) and people of a healthy weight.

  该研究发现，与BMI较高（但腰臀比不高）和体重健康的人群相比，BMI指数高且腰臀比高的人的脑容量最低。

    Specifically, people with both a high BMI and high waist-to-hip ratio had an average gray matter volume of 786 cubic centimeters, compared with 793 cubic centimeters for people with a high BMI but not a high waist-to-hip ratio; and 798 cubic centimeters for people of a healthy weight.

  具体而言，高BMI和高腰臀比的人，平均灰质体积为786立方厘米，而BMI指数高但腰臀比不高的人则为793立方厘米；对于体重正常的人来说则是798立方厘米。

    The findings held even after researchers took into account other factors that can affect brain volume, including age, smoking and high blood pressure.

  即使在研究人员考虑了年龄、吸烟和高血压等影响脑容量的其他因素后，这一发现仍然成立。

    Though the study didn't look at potential mechanisms linking visceral fat and brain shrinkage, one hypothesis is that this type of fat is thought to produce inflammatory substances that may play a role in brain atrophy, the researchers said.

  研究人员表示，虽然这项研究没有研究内脏脂肪和大脑萎缩之间的潜在联系，但有一种假设认为，这种类型的脂肪被认为会产生炎症物质，可能在大脑萎缩中发挥作用。

    Dr. Gayatri Devi, a neurologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, who was not involved with the study, agreed with the findings. 'Brain gray matter shrinkage...seems to be associated with obesity and with increased visceral fat,' she said.

  纽约Lenox Hill医院的神经科医生Gayatri Devi博士并没有参与这项研究，但她同意这项研究结果。'脑灰质萎缩......似乎与肥胖和内脏脂肪增加有关，'她说。

    'All this goes to show that good general health is very important for good brain health,' Devi told Live Science.

 “这一切都表明，良好的整体健康对于大脑健康至关重要”Devi告诉自然科学。

    A limitation of the study is that people who agreed to take part in the study tended to be healthier than people who did not want to take part, so the results may not apply to the general population as a whole, the researchers noted.

  研究人员指出，这项研究的局限性在于，同意参与研究的人往往比不想参加研究的人更健康，因此结果可能不适用于整体人群。

（版权说明，转载自;科学猫科普）