Obesity Associated With a Higher Risk for Dementia, New Study Finds

A U.S. National Institute on Aging -funded study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology suggests that obesity may tie into a higher risk for developing dementia. Obesity is a modifiable risk factor for dementia, as it generally can be offset via lifestyle changes like diet and exercise. Investigators examined a group of participants from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging who were at least 50 years old when enrolled. Baseline measurements, including body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, were recorded upon enrollment, and participants were followed up on average 11 years later to determine whether they had developed dementia. Those with a BMI corresponding with overweight or obese were more likely to develop dementia, correlating with previous findings indicating that obesity is a risk factor. The researchers also learned that abdominal obesity at baseline is a risk factor that impacts women more than men, while the connection between obesity and dementia was independent of whether a person was a smoker, had hypertension or diabetes, or carried the APOE e4 gene — a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.