Carrying around excess weight is bad for your health. This isn’t news. Trying to keep it off by dieting off and on could be bad for your brain, though.
A study done by researchers in Korea has found that gaining or losing a significant amount of weight as a senior could raise your risk of developing dementia.
The Korean team looked at the physical and mental health of 67,219 participants aged 60-79 years, who had all undergone BMI (body mass index) measurement in 2002-2003 and 2004-2005. This was done as part of the National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening Cohort in the country.
Patients, both male and female, who experienced a rapid weight change in later-life, defined as a 10% or higher increase or decrease in BMI (body mass index) over a two-year period, had a higher risk of developing dementia.
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Scientists did cautioned that the study was observational, however. As such, it doesn’t necessarily indicate that significant weight gain or loss in particular causes dementia, but researchers warned that caution should be exercised.
“Both weight gain and weight loss may be significant risk factors associated with dementia,” the team concluded. “This study revealed that severe weight gain, uncontrolled diabetes, smoking and less physical activity in late-life had a detrimental effect on dementia development.”
According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, less than 5% of adults in the country participate in the recommended 30 minutes of physical activity each day. Time to get moving.
