London: People who carry too much weight around their middle have smaller brains, scientists have found.

A fat belly is linked to a smaller brain. Credit:Steve Cassell

Researchers from Loughborough University and UCL discovered that people with a high body mass index (BMI) and high waist-to-hip ratio had brains that were 12 cubic cm smaller than people of a healthy weight.

Dr Mark Hamer, professor of Exercise as Medicine at Loughborough, said it was unclear if the differences in brain structure were caused by obesity, or were driving it. But he said it might explain why people who were overweight were more likely to develop dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases.

"Our research looked at a large group of people and found obesity, specifically around the middle, may be linked with brain shrinkage," he said