摘要：体内脂肪细胞过多会导致全身性低度炎症，而这种炎症是导致大脑衰老的根本原因。肥胖引起的慢性静脉功能不全可能会损害认知功能。通过减肥来积极影响大脑衰老永远不会太晚。
How Do Your Age and Diet
Influence Your Thinking?
年龄和饮食如何影响思维？
Long-standing obesity in the elderly can impair cognitive function.
老年人长期肥胖会损害认知功能。
Posted November 11, 2025 | Reviewed by Abigail Fagan
发布于2025年11月11日 | 由阿比盖尔·费根审阅
Having too many fat cells can lead to low-grade, body-wide inflammation that underlies brain aging.Chronic venous insufficiency due to obesity may impair cognitive function.It’s never too late to positively impact brain aging by losing weight.
体内脂肪细胞过多会导致全身性低度炎症，而这种炎症是导致大脑衰老的根本原因。肥胖引起的慢性静脉功能不全可能会损害认知功能。通过减肥来积极影响大脑衰老永远不会太晚。
At a certain point, older folks occasionally develop a penchant for making verbal slurs, mental stumbles, rambling speeches, and confusing responses. They often claim that they have no memory of making those misstatements; they might not be lying. They may be experiencing the most common consequences of advanced age coupled with chronic obesity due to a poor diet.
老年人到了某个阶段，偶尔会出现口齿不清、思维混乱、语无伦次和反应含糊不清的情况。他们常常声称自己不记得说过这些话；他们可能并没有撒谎。他们可能正在经历高龄最常见的后果，再加上不良饮食导致的慢性肥胖。
Mind-wandering, confusion, and a reduced ability to organize and focus thoughts are classic early symptoms of dementia. Today, an overwhelming body of scientific evidence across a wide spectrum of medical disciplines strongly argues that obesity, particularly long-standing obesity in the elderly, impairs cognitive function and accelerates aging of the brain. One recent epidemiological study concluded that by the year 2050, the number of overweight or obese Americans will increase to above 50 percent. Even during the recent pandemic, obesity-related diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular failure, were still the greatest causes of death in the U.S.
走神、思维混乱以及组织和集中注意力能力下降是痴呆症的典型早期症状。如今，来自众多医学领域的大量科学证据有力地表明，肥胖，尤其是老年人的长期肥胖，会损害认知功能并加速大脑衰老。一项近期流行病学研究得出结论，到2050年，美国超重或肥胖人口的比例将超过50%。即使在最近的新冠疫情期间，与肥胖相关的疾病，例如癌症和心血管衰竭，仍然是美国的主要死因。
Recent studies have further defined the mechanisms by which excess body fat impairs cognitive function in the elderly. First, having too many fat cells leads to a condition of chronic, low-grade, body-wide inflammation. The presence of inflammation in the brain underlies both normal brain aging and dementia. Many laboratories around the world, including my own, have documented the mechanisms that underlie how excessive body fat impairs the function of the aging brain.
近期研究进一步阐明了体内脂肪过多损害老年人认知功能的机制。首先，过多的脂肪细胞会导致慢性、低度、全身性炎症。大脑炎症是正常大脑衰老和痴呆症的共同基础。包括我所在的实验室在内的世界各地许多实验室都已证实，体内脂肪过多会损害老年人大脑功能。
Body fat actively impairs brain function in another recently discovered way; due to elevated levels of the fat-derived protein called leptin. Leptin is a hormone that is primarily involved in glucose, fat, and energy metabolism, as well as in inducing inflammation and atherosclerosis. Leptin can cross the blood-brain barrier and may impair brain function. A recent study of 669 people over the age of 65 years reported that higher blood levels of leptin was significantly associated with greater odds of having cognitive impairment.
体脂还会以另一种近期发现的方式损害大脑功能：这是由于体内一种名为瘦素的脂肪衍生蛋白水平升高所致。瘦素是一种主要参与葡萄糖、脂肪和能量代谢的激素，同时也会诱发炎症和动脉粥样硬化。瘦素可以穿过血脑屏障，并可能损害大脑功能。一项近期针对669名65岁以上人群的研究表明，血液中瘦素水平越高，认知障碍的风险也越高。
The study focused on this age group because over two-thirds of individuals aged 65 and older are obese or overweight in the United States. Another recent study outlined the association between the degree of adiposity, or fat deposit, and cognitive dysfunction in the elderly. The authors concluded that pathological changes in the small blood vessels in the brain, including impaired endothelial function, impaired coupling between neurons and blood vessels and a disrupted blood-brain barrier, contributed to the development of cognitive decline with aging.
这项研究之所以聚焦于这个年龄组，是因为在美国，超过三分之二的65岁及以上人群超重或肥胖。另一项近期研究概述了脂肪沉积程度与老年人认知功能障碍之间的关联。作者得出结论，大脑小血管的病理变化，包括内皮功能受损、神经元与血管之间的连接受损以及血脑屏障破坏，都会导致老年人认知能力下降。
A diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency is primarily known for its physical symptoms, such as leg swelling and varicose veins. This is another common issue for people with obesity. Emerging research indicates that cognitive impairment may occur in patients with chronic venous insufficiency, particularly due to cerebral venous congestion, affecting executive function, processing speed, and attention. The negative interaction of these biological consequences of obesity and aging cannot be ignored if we hope to improve the health of the nation and improve the quality of life as we all get older. If you are older and overweight, please consider contacting your local Agency on Aging or access the internet for free nutrition and weight loss counseling. It’s never too late to positively impact brain aging by losing weight.
慢性静脉功能不全的诊断主要基于其身体症状，例如腿部肿胀和静脉曲张。这也是肥胖人群常见的健康问题。新兴研究表明，慢性静脉功能不全患者可能会出现认知障碍，尤其是由于脑静脉淤血，影响执行功能、处理速度和注意力。如果我们希望改善国民健康，提高老年人的生活质量，就不能忽视肥胖和衰老带来的这些生物学后果之间的负面影响。如果您年长且超重，请考虑联系您当地的老龄机构或访问互联网获取免费的营养和减肥咨询。通过减肥来积极影响大脑衰老，永远不会太晚。
来源：左右图史