Body mass index and regional brain N-acetylaspartate: a systematic review and meta-analysis of ¹H-MRS studies
Authors' conclusion
In this meta-analysis, higher BMI was associated with lower neural NAA, most consistently in the frontal regions, but with pooled analyses suggesting more widespread NAA-obesity associations.
Study context
- Population
- 1H-MRS studies of body mass index (BMI) and regional brain NAA concentrations (PubMed, Scopus, Embase)23 studies
- Comparison
- Overweight or obesity vs normal weight; continuous BMI
- Outcome
- Regional brain NAA concentrations in relation to BMI
Methodological detailsPRISMA, random-effects, regional meta-analyses, categorical and continuous analyses
- PRISMA
- Random-effects
- Regional meta-analyses
- Categorical and continuous analyses
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Frontal region NAA
Higher BMIHedges' g (95% CI)P value
Categorical analysis
−0.48(−0.93 to −0.03)
P = 0.035- Continuous analysis
- r −0.218 (95% CI −0.323 to −0.108); P < 0.001
Further pooled results
Right hippocampal region NAA, categorical analysis
- Hedges' g, 95% CI, p
- −0.51 [−0.84, −0.19], p = 0.002
Parietal region NAA, continuous analysis
- R, 95% CI, p
- −0.256 [−0.463, −0.022], p = 0.032
Pooled NAA across all regions
- Significant negative BMI-NAA associations in continuous analyses of both lower-bound and upper-bound models; categorical pooled analyses significant only in lower-bound model
Original publication
Body mass index and regional brain N-acetylaspartate: a systematic review and meta-analysis of ¹H-MRS studies. Int J Obes (Lond). Published 15 September 2026. doi:10.
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