Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Nov 26, 2025 1 month, 2 weeks, 7 hours ago
Medical News: A new wave of research is warning that many young adults may already be silently harming their brains without realizing it. The problem is not just obesity itself but a widespread lack of choline, an essential nutrient that supports the liver, controls inflammation and helps keep brain cells healthy, according to this
Medical News report.
Researchers warn that widespread choline deficiency in obese young adults may be silently damaging
brain cells and raising future Alzheimer’s risk
Scientists from Arizona State University, the ASU-Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center, the ASU School of Life Sciences, Banner Sun Health Research Institute and Mayo Clinic Arizona found that obese young adults in their 20s and 30s show worrying blood markers usually seen in much older people with memory problems and Alzheimer’s disease.
Young Bodies Old Brain Signals
In the study, 30 young adults were divided into two groups: those with obesity and those with a healthy weight. Blood tests showed that participants with obesity had higher levels of inflammatory proteins, stressed liver enzymes and a protein called neurofilament light chain or NfL. NfL is released when nerve fibers in the brain are damaged and is increasingly used as an early warning sign of neurodegeneration.
When researchers compared these young adults to older patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease, they saw a similar pattern the same pairing of elevated NfL and other risk markers. This suggests that the biological processes leading to later life dementia may already be starting decades earlier in people who are obese or metabolically unhealthy.
Low Choline the Missing Nutrient
The most striking finding was that obese young adults had significantly lower levels of choline circulating in their blood. Lower choline was tightly linked to more body fat, higher insulin levels, stronger insulin resistance, raised inflammatory cytokines and worsening liver markers such as aldolase B and sorbitol dehydrogenase.
Choline is vital for building cell membranes, producing the memory chemical acetylcholine and helping the liver process fats. Only about 30 percent is made inside the body; the rest must come from food such as eggs, fish, poultry, beans and cruciferous vegetables. The study also found that women had lower choline levels than men, which is concerning because women already face a higher lifetime risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Hidden Risks in Diets and Weight Loss Drugs
Modern eating patterns make the problem worse. Many people, especially adolescents and young adults, do not reach the recommended daily choline intake. On top of that, powerful GLP 1 weight loss drugs sharply cut appetite and calorie intake. While these medicines can improve blood sugar and weight, they may also reduce the intake of key nutrients like choline unless diets are carefully planned or supplemented.
Why This Matters for
Future Brain Health?
The researchers argue that obesity, insulin resistance, chronic inflammation and choline deficiency form a dangerous chain that can quietly stress the brain for years. Their data in both young adults and Alzheimer’s patients show that low choline and high NfL travel together, pointing to subtle but real nerve damage long before symptoms appear. If choline intake can be improved early in life and metabolic health stabilized, it may be possible to reduce the future risk of type 2 diabetes and dementia, especially in women and in those already struggling with obesity. While more clinical trials are needed, the message is clear pay attention to weight, inflammation and choline rich foods now, rather than waiting for memory problems to appear decades later.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Aging and Disease.
https://www.aginganddisease.org/EN/10.14336/AD.2025.1207
For the latest on brain neurodegenerative diseases, keep on logging to Thailand
Medical News.
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https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/alzheimer,-dementia-
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