Table 1.
Examples of Literature Findings
| Report | Age Group | N | Neuroimaging Method | Contrast Type | Summary of Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zade et al. | Middle-Aged | 494 | ROI | WHR Quartiles | Among highest WHR quartile, higher WHR was associated with lower total brain volume, frontal GM volume, temporal horn volume reflective of hippocampus, and ventricular volume. |
| Taki et al. | Middle-Aged | 1,428 | VBM Voxel-Wise | Continuous BMI | A BMI * Sex interaction showed no association for women. For men, higher BMI predicted less GM in temporal lobe, anterior cerebellum, fusiform gyrus, frontal lobes, precuneus, and midbrain. Positive associations noted in IFG, posterior cerebellum, frontal and temporal lobes, thalamus, and caudate. |
| Ho et al. (ADNI + CHS-CS) | Aged | 700 | TBM Voxel-Wise | Continuous BMI | Higher BMI across AD and MCI participants predicted less GM predominantly in medial PFC, occipital lobe, midline areas, cerebellum, brainstem, and deep WM; slight hippocampal coverage in ADNI cohort. Higher BMI predicted more GM in occipital lobe, posterior and anterior cingulate, and pre-central gyrus. |
| Walther et al. | Aged | 95 | VBM Voxel-Wise | Continuous BMI | Higher BMI predicted lower GM in frontal lobe, inferior parietal area, parahippocampus to lingual gyrus, cerebellum, and other regions. Higher BMI predicted more WM predominantly in frontal and temporal areas. |
| Weise et al. | Young Adult | 76 | VBM Voxel-Wise | Continuous Fat-Free Mass Index (FFMI) or Fat Mass Index (FMI) | Higher FFMI strongly predicted less GM in insula, temporal gyri, ventral and orbital PFC. Higher FMI was associated with smaller clusters in similar regions. Covarying FFMI rendered FMI associations non-significant. |
| Haltia et al. | Young Adult | 46 | VBM Voxel-Wise | Obese (30) vs. Lean (16) | Obese participants showed no significant GM differences after type 1 error correction, but did show more WM near parahippocampus, temporal gyri, brainstem, and cerebellum. After 6 weeks of dieting in obese participants, there was significantly less WM in parahippocampl gyrus and temporal areas |
| Brain Development Cooperative Group | Children | 325 | ROI | Continuous BMI | Higher BMI had small to moderate associations with global, parietal, temporal, and occipital GM. No association with frontal lobe GM. Higher BMI predicted small positive correlations with global, frontal, parietal, and temporal WM. |
| Pannacciulli et al. | Young Adult | 60 | VBM Voxel-Wise | Morbidly obese (24) vs. lean (36) | Morbidly obese participant had less GM in cerebellum, post-central gyrus, putamen, MFG, and anterior insula. Obese participants also had more GM in occipital areas, cerebellum, and MFG, as well as more WM near striatum. |
AD = Alzheimer’s disease; ADNI = Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative; BMI = Body Mass Index; CHS-CS = Cardiovascular Health Study Cognition Study; GM = Gray Matter; IFG = Inferior Frontal Gyrus; MCI = Mild Cognitive Impairment; MFG = Medial Frontal Gyrus; PFC = Prefrontal Cortex; ROI = Region of Interest; TBM = Tensor-Based Morphometry; VBM = Voxel-Based Morphometry; WHR = Waist to Hip Ratio; WM = White Matter.