Toulouse: Obesity may damage the brain, say scientists at Toulouse University Hospital in France.

A study of 2,300 adults demonstrated that those with a higher body mass index (the ratio of weight and height) had poorer mental performance than slimmer people.

The researchers concluded that arteries in the brain could harden in the same way as fat affects the cardiovascular system or may affect hormones.

The findings were published in the US journal Neurology.