Do fat people turn gray earlier?

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MunichObese people are more susceptible to diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure. But their appearance could also suffer in unexpected places - overweight people get gray hair earlier.

If someone turns gray at a young age, it can have various causes. Hyoseung Shin and his colleagues from Gyang University wanted to know more about this. To do this, the researchers collected data from a total of around 6,400 young men under 30 years of age. By means of a questionnaire, the participants provided information on the number of their gray hairs, the head of their parents' hair, their weight, their stress levels and various lifestyle habits such as smoking. Over 1,600 of the men examined already had gray hair - that's a good 25 percent of all test subjects.

The genes are the strongest factor

For many men, the genetic makeup was to blame for the silver lining in their hair: test subjects whose parents had grayed out at an early age had an almost 13-fold higher risk of also finding gray hair early on. In second place of the factors that occurred together with the gray hair was overweight. The probability of getting gray hair at a young age increased 2.6-fold in subjects with a body mass index (BMI) over 29. Lifestyle apparently also played a role: smokers' risk of prematurely gray hair was increased 1.6-fold. Furthermore, men with a corresponding predisposition or overweight showed themselves not only to be grayed earlier, but also to a greater extent.

Oxidative stress causes hair to fade

The researchers suspect that oxidative stress, which occurs both with smoking and with obesity, is the cause of gray hair - it apparently leads to a reduced number of melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells in the body. In addition, Shin and his colleagues assume that the hormone leptin could play a role. This is mainly expressed by fat cells and is therefore present in high concentrations in fat people. Leptin also appears to reduce the formation of the pigment melanin. Furthermore, the ability of the melanin-producing cells to repair DNA damage is reduced by the hormone.

Study has weak points

However, the scientists are aware that the study has some weaknesses: It is based on questionnaires, i.e. on subjective statements, and there is a lack of data from young women. In addition, it is not certain whether the results of Koreans can be transferred to people of different origins.

Signs of age

Gray hair is a typical sign of aging. If melanin is not available, air bubbles build up in its place in the hair shaft and the hair turns gray. When the first gray hairs sprout varies from person to person. People who turn gray very early usually have a corresponding genetic predisposition. If this is not the case, the gray hair can be an indication of possible deficiencies, hormonal disorders or a lifestyle that is harmful to health.

Source:

Shin Hyoseung et al .: Association of premature hair graying with family history, smoking, and obesity: A cross-sectional study. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2014.11.008

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