Belly fat has long been thought to be particularly bad for your heart, but now, a new study adds more evidence to the idea that it may also be bad for your brain.

长期以来，人们都认为腹部肥胖对心脏特别不好，但现在一项新研究提出的新证据表明，它可能还对你的大脑有害。

The study, from the United Kingdom, found that people who were obese¹ and had a high waist-to-hip ratio (a measure of belly fat) had slightly lower brain volumes, on average, compared with people who were a healthy weight.

英国的这项研究发现，肥胖者以及腰臀比（腹部脂肪衡量指标）高的人比起那些体重健康的人来说，平均的脑容量要稍微小一些。

Specifically, belly fat was linked with lower volumes of gray matter, the brain tissue that contains nerve cells.

具体来说，腹部肥胖和脑灰质含量低有关。脑灰质是含有神经细胞的脑组织。

"Our research looked at a large group of people and found obesity², specifically around the middle, may be linked with brain shrinkage," lead study author Mark Hamer, a professor at Loughborough University's School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences in Leicestershire, England, said in a statement.

该研究报告的第一作者、英国莱斯特郡拉夫堡大学的运动、锻炼及健康科学学院的教授马克·哈默尔在一项声明中表示：“我们的研究调查了一大群人，然后发现肥胖，尤其是腰腹部肥胖，可能和脑部萎缩有关。”

Lower brain volume, or brain shrinkage, has been linked with an increased risk of memory decline and dementia.

该研究指出，脑容量更小，或者说是脑部萎缩，和记忆衰退以及痴呆的风险增加有关联。

The new findings, published Jan. 9 in the journal Neurology, suggest that the combination of obesity (as measured by body mass index, or BMI) and a high waist-to-hip ratio may be a risk factor for brain shrinkage, the researchers said.

这些新发现1月9日发表在《神经学》期刊上。研究指出，肥胖加上高腰臀比可能是脑部萎缩的一个风险因素。研究人员通过身体质量指数来衡量一个人是否肥胖。

However, the study found only an association between belly fat and lower brain volume, and cannot prove that carrying more fat around the waist actually causes brain shrinkage.

不过，这项研究只是发现了腹部脂肪和脑容量小之间的关联，并不能证明肚子上的肉会导致脑部萎缩。

It could be that people with lower volumes of gray matter in certain brain areas are at a higher risk of obesity. Future studies are needed to tease out the reasons for the link.

也可能是脑部特定区域灰质较少的人更容易肥胖。要梳理出这个关联的前因后果，还需进行更多研究。