Obesity increases dementia jeopardize by 31%

Specialists from University College London (UK) have found that obesity affects negatively on the brain function of older people: excess body weight increases the risk of developing senile dementia by 31%. An article about it was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Previous studies have shown that dementia is caused by an inappropriate diet, bad habits, and a sedentary lifestyle, while sports and intellectual pursuits, on the contrary, reduce this risk.

In a new study, scientists have studied another risk factor, Body Mass Index (BMI). They were interested in how a high BMI would affect the brain health of older people after 10-15 years. It turned out that this factor affected the risk of dementia as much as others.

The authors found that participants with high BMI (over 30 kg/m2) were about 31% more likely to develop dementia than their normal weighted counterparts. This dependence was more common in women: their excess weight increased the risk of dementia by 39%.

The biological mechanism of this relationship remains to be seen. Scientists believe that obesity can contribute to dementia both directly (through the production of signal molecules) and indirectly (for example, by increasing pressure in the blood vessels).