Extra weight may cause your brain to age faster than normal. A new study compared the decline of white matter in the brain between people who were lean and participants who were overweight. “Those in the overweight group had much less white matter than their thinner counterparts. The difference was only evident from middle-age onwards, suggesting that our brains may be particularly vulnerable during this period of ageing. However there was no difference in how the groups fared in tests of knowledge and understanding, so the researchers say more work is needed to follow people and see who develops conditions such as dementia.” While more research needs to be done, it is unclear whether or not this brain aging can be reduced if people lose weight.