Video: Research Links Weight Loss and Memory Performance

Can losing weight make you smarter?

One professor at is working to answer that question. And so far, the answer appears to be "yes."

John Gunstad, an associate professor of psychology at Kent State, is working to publish the first round of research in a study linking weight loss to improved brain fuction.

Gunstad worked with a team of researchers for the past four years collecting data from 150 patients in New York and North Dakota. Their research showed patients who had undergone bariatric weight loss surgery demonstrated improved memory and concentration as they lost weight.

One particular test showed patients who lost weight could both learn more words and retain them more effectively.

"Seeing that weight loss improves both of those steps is very encouraging," Gunstad said. "Now we just have to figure out how it all happens."

Gunstad's research team is following study participants for two years. Each patient was tested before the bariatric surgery and 12 weeks after. The participants were tested again one year after surgery and will undergo more testing at the two-year mark.

The $1.5 million study, funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, will culminate with the findings published in an upcoming issue of Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, the Official Journal of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

Gunstad, a neuropsychologist, said weight loss has more far-reaching effects on brain function than just improving memory and concentration.

"It’s broader than just memory," he said. "So it seems to be that obesity affects the brain in lots of ways. And we’re just really I think at the tip of the iceburg."

Their next line of research will study whether patients who lose weight through more natural steps — dieting and exercise — also show improved brain function as opposed to only surgical patients.

"We’re cautiously optimistic that it will happen," he said. "Exercising more, eating a healthier diet, all those things lead to better cognition."