Scientists have identified an unexpected reason for people losing weight as they age

Previous studies have shown a potential relationship between increased noise levels (from road traffic, steam turbines and so on) and the risk of obesity. Malnutrition and underweight are also known to be associated with sensorineural hearing loss. There are studies whose authors claim that the development of certain deafness is positively correlated with body mass index (BMI).

However, the data on this issue is very conflicting. Researchers from the University of Oulu (Finland) decided to learn more about this and conducted their own study. They examined the impact of age-related hearing loss on weight loss. The work used data from hundreds of thousands of people of European descent. The age range of the subjects was from 52 to 63 years old. The scientists presented the results of their work in the journal Scientific Reports.

It turned out that age-related hearing loss correlates with weight loss - a decrease in BMI and total body fat. Scientists believe that the reason lies in the gene associated with fat mass and obesity - FTO. It is possible that its effect on hearing has so far eluded researchers.

It should be noted that at this stage the correlation between weight loss and hearing has only just been discovered, so the conclusions of the new work should be treated with some caution.