A study conducted at The Ohio State University suggests that consuming a high-fat diet for just three days can lead to memory impairments and brain inflammation in older rats, even before obesity develops.
Researchers fed separate groups of young and old rats a high-fat diet for either three days or three months to analyze how quickly diet-induced changes occur in the brain compared to the rest of the body. After three months, all rats on the high-fat diet showed metabolic issues, gut inflammation, and altered gut bacteria compared to those on a standard laboratory diet. However, after just three days, no significant metabolic or gut changes were observed.
Notably, brain inflammation and memory deficits appeared only in older rats, regardless of whether they had been on the high-fat diet for three days or three months.
These findings challenge the assumption that diet-related brain inflammation in aging is solely linked to obesity, said senior study author Ruth Barrientos, an investigator at Ohio State’s Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research.
“Unhealthy diets and obesity are linked, but they are not inseparable. We found that within just three days—long before obesity sets in—significant neuroinflammatory changes occur,” said Barrientos, who is also an associate professor at Ohio State’s College of Medicine.
The study, published in Immunity & Ageing, highlights the rapid impact of unhealthy dietary choices on brain health, particularly in aging populations.
(ANI)
