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Lower levels of balance recovery and increased risk of falls: In her thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, entitled ''A modeling investigation of obesity and balance recovery'', Sara Louise Matrangola writes in the abstract: "Obesity is associated with an increased risk of falls and subsequent injury. Previous studies have shown weight loss and strength training to be beneficial to balance, but knowing which is more beneficial will allow researchers to design interventions to maximize the benefits in terms of balance and reducing risk of falls."<ref>[http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-07162008-101646/unrestricted/matrangola_thesis_etd.pdf Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, entitled ''A modeling investigation of obesity and balance recovery''by Sara Louise Matrangola]</ref>  === Health effects of Alzheimer's disease === ''See also:'' [[Effects of Alzheimer's disease on the brain]] [[Alzheimer's disease]] is "characterised by loss of neurons and synapses in the [[cerebral cortex]] and certain subcortical regions. This loss results in gross atrophy of the affected regions, including degeneration in the [[temporal lobes|temporal lobe]] and [[parietal lobe]], and parts of the frontal cortex and cingulate gyrus.<ref>http://www.news-medical.net/health/Neurodegeneration-in-Alzheimers-and-Parkinsons.aspx</ref> Some of the primary symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are: memory problems, mood swings, emotional outbursts, brain stem damage which impairs function in the heart, lungs plus causes disruption of various other bodily processes.<ref>http://www.dementiacarecentral.com/node/559</ref> An abstract of the medical study entitled ''Measures to Assess the Noncognitive Symptoms of Dementia in the Primary Care Setting'' by Brent P. Forester, M.D. and Thomas E. Oxman, M.D. inidcated "Noncognitive symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias include psychosis, mood disturbances, personality changes, agitation, aggression, pacing, wandering, altered sexual behavior, changed sleep patterns, and appetite disturbances. These noncognitive symptoms of dementia are common, disabling to both the patient and the caregiver, and costly."<ref>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC419385/</ref> According to the Center for Neuro Skills:{{cquote|Kolb & Wishaw (1990) have identified eight principle symptoms of temporal lobe damage: 1) disturbance of auditory sensation and perception, 2) disturbance of selective attention of auditory and visual input, 3) disorders of visual perception, 4) impaired organization and categorization of verbal material, 5) disturbance of language comprehension, 6) impaired long-term memory, 7) altered personality and affective behavior, 8) altered sexual behavior.<ref>http://www.neuroskills.com/tbi/btemporl.shtml</ref>}} === Obesity, dementia, Alzheimer's disease and prevention === ''See also:'' [[Alzheimer's disease and prevention]] Weili Xu, a researcher at the [[Karolinska Institute]] in [[Stockholm]], declared: "Our results contribute to the growing evidence that controlling body weight or losing weight in middle age could reduce your risk of [[dementia]]".<ref>[http://www.alzheimersreadingroom.com/2011/05/obesity-in-middle-age-may-increase-risk.html Obesity in Middle Age May Increase Risk of Dementia]</ref> For more information please see: [[Alzheimer's disease and prevention]]