A new budding study has revealed that the problem of obesity might have an adverse impact on memory. Obese people are likely to have a weaker memory than the thinner counterparts.

Earlier, an experiment was performed by the researchers at University of Cambridge, debating that a loss of memory relating to the recent meals might possibly result in overeating. However, the researchers very specifically pointed out that obesity does not harm other parts of the memory that pertain to things are general knowledge.

The research involved 50 participants. The experiment suggested that excessive weight gain is related to weakening episodic memory, which is the ability of a person to remember past experiences and recent occurrences, like coffee fragrance or feeling of touch. The participants in this experiment had body mass index (BMI) from 18, which is considered healthy, to 51, which is extremely obese.

Just 36 participants were with normal BMI, while the remaining people were either overweight or obese. The enrollees participated in a memory experiment, known as Treasure Hunt Task. In this experiment, they had to hide objects during different settings and times and during complicated situations for two days. Subsequently, they underwent a what-when-where test, trying to remember where they hid things.

The outcome showed that recalling memory of obese people was 15% less than the healthy ones.

“The suggestion we’re making is that a higher BMI is having some reduction on the vividness of memory, but they’re not drawing blanks and having amnesia,” said Dr. Lucy Cheke from University of Cambridge.

However, Dr. Cheke added that if a person has a weak memory associated with his intake of meals, it is likely to result in over eating since the person will not be able to properly regulate their eating habits and amount.