Obese Heavy Drinkers at Higher Risk for Alcohol-Related Brain Damage

New research suggests obesity in heavy drinkers increases the severity of alcohol-related brain injury, HealthDay News reported Sept. 9.

Investigators conducted brains scans of 54 alcohol-dependent men participating in a treatment program and compared results with their body mass index (BMI). Even when taking into consideration age, smoking status, and other health problems, participants who were obese had higher rates of brain injury than those who were not.

“It is commonly believed that it is the large amount of consumed alcohol by itself that leads to brain injury in alcoholics,” said Dieter J. Meyerhoff, professor of radiology at the University of California, San Francisco and coauthor of the study. “This is only partly correct. This new study suggests that a high BMI, independent of drinking and smoking, is also associated with brain injury.”

The study was published online in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.