(Mirror Daily, United States) – A new study brings even more bad news to people considered to be obese. According to the researchers, obesity affects the memory, so it may be that obese people don’t manage to lose weight because they forgot they already ate and just order another pizza with wedges on the side.

Aside from the fact that obesity may trigger additional serious health problems like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, depression and strokes, obesity affects the memory as well.

It may be that obese people tend to develop diabetes not just because their cholesterol and lipid levels are to the roof, but also because they forgot about that Snickers bars from 15 minutes ago so they grab a Lion to satisfy their sweet tooth.

The study in question analyzed a sample of 50 volunteers with ages between 18 and 35 and BMIs from 18 to 51. A standard, healthy BMI is ranged between 18 and 25. Those who measure a BMI in between 26 and 30 are considered to be overweight and everything above 31 is categorized as obese.

In order to test the memory capacity of the participants, the researchers gave them a memory test also known as the Task of Treasure Hunt.

The test is rather complicated on its own because the participants must “hide” different objects in different scenarios on a two days span.

Then they are asked to remember which object was hidden where and when. So it’s not your standard “I’ll give you ten words and ask you to repeat them after half an hour” memory test that is usually given to Alzheimer’s patients.

The results of this highly scientific study showed that obesity affects the memory. Most of the participants that measured a BMI higher than 31 had trouble completing the task.

The lead author of the study, Lucy Cheke, declared that a memory deficit present in overweight individuals could affect appetite regulation and feeding behavior. This mostly means that obese people eat too much because they forgot the fact that they already ate.

Obesity affects the memory so if an obese individual wants to start a diet, it is recommended that he or she starts an eating journal as well. This way the weight-struggling person can remember when was the last meal and it consisted off, thus avoiding to overeat.

This is not the first study that suggests the fact that obesity affects the memory. Previous research showed that the hippocampus of obese people is affected by their condition, thus making it hard for them to remember certain things.