Obesity links to brain disorder

Australian scientists said on Wednesday obesity was in part a brain disorder, and they believed that giving obese people the same psychological counseling as those with anorexia nervosa could help their weight battle. The Australian scientists came up with the theory after discovering that although obese people and anorexics weigh in at opposite ends of the scales, they share a similar condition affecting the brain. Both groups have executive function disorders (EFD), which means they have problems organizing their daily lives. Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) reviewed 38 studies on obesity and high-level brain functions and found obese people were prone to EFD. But whereas EFD can make anorexics keep a tight rein on things, the scientists said it is the opposite for obese people, who are often too flexible and find it difficult to solve problems and achieve goals. According to lead researcher Evelyn Smith, obesity was in part a brain disorder, and it is not simply down to a lifestyle disorder. She said that with no cure for obesity and the failure of diets, education and exercise programs to help obese people shed their excess weight for good, cognitive remediation therapy, which helps people understand how they think and teaches them ways of changing it, should be tested on obese people. "Dieting is difficult," Dr. Smith was quoted by the Australia Associated Press. "So together with cognitive remediation therapy, they might be able to maintain their diet for a long period of time and change their lifestyle behaviors which have been maintaining their obesity." The findings on obesity and EFD were published by the international journal Obesity Reviews.