Thinking disorders, not lifestyle, may lead to obesity

Hard to argue with the proposition that fat people think like s**t. Even harder to blame fatosity on it.

OBESE people are more likely to suffer from bad planning and decision-making skills, putting them in a vicious cycle of being unable to lose weight, a controversial study suggests.

Researchers from the University of New South Wales said a review of 38 studies of obesity and cognitive function found a strong association between obesity and weakness in the executive part of the brain, which controls problem-solving, decision-making, reasoning, planning, organisational skills and achievement of complex goals.

They said the novel finding, which comes amid growing evidence of a link between obesity and dementia, meant obesity may be better treated partly as a brain condition like anorexia nervosa, rather than a ''lifestyle disorder''.

These excusinators are working overtime.