Overeating may have more health risks than you first thought. Whether for distraction, or comfort, it is harming more than your body. Studies suggest constant overeating can lead to memory loss.
Behind Eating and Its Effects on the Brain
Data from a study suggests that the higher amount of caloric consumption correlates to the higher risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI is the stage of memory loss that is not as extreme as early Alzheimer’s disease, but more serious than age-related memory loss.
In a vicious cycle, researchers say that not being able to remember the last meal contributes to overeating. What’s more, overeating impacts the hippocampus, a gland in the brain responsible for cognitive abilities such as declarative memory. Declarative memory is the brain’s way of recalling and forming memories about events and facts.
So, when you overeat, you affect your brain’s ability to remember you overate in the last meal. Hence, you can’t remember your last meal and you overeat again.
Additionally, constant overeating may eventually lead to obesity. And obesity has its own health and psychological complications of its own. Including a greater increased risk of memory loss.
It is possible to circumvent the risk of memory loss from overeating. Changing your eating habits is the first step. The food culture in society today can make it difficult. There are so many options available, but there are safer choices to eat. Keeping track of your meals through an app or by writing it down can help you recall eating habits.
Final Thoughts
Your overeating is a negative cycle that has the potential to lead to memory loss. So, you do it again. You can reduce your risks by changing your eating habits. And save your hippocampus in the process.
