Obesity in women linked to higher risk of dementia
OBESITY in midlife is linked to a greater risk of dementia later in life for women, but poor diet and lack of exercise are not, new research suggests.
Researchers found that women who were obese at the start of the study had in the long term a 21% greater risk of dementia compared with women with a desirable BMI.
The study involved 1,137,000 women born in the UK between 1935 and 1950. They had an average age of 56 and did not have dementia at the start of the study.
Study author Dr Sarah Floud, of the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, said: “Some previous studies have suggested poor diet or a lack of exercise may increase a person’s risk of dementia. However, our study found these factors are not linked to the long-term risk of dementia.
“Short-term associations between these factors and dementia risk are likely to reflect changes in behaviour, such as eating poorly and being inactive.”
A BMI between 20 and 25 was considered desirable for the study, and a BMI of 30 or higher was considered obese. Those who reported exercising less than once a week were considered inactive. Usual diet was used to calculate their calorie intake.
Scientists followed the women for an average of 18 years, and after 15 years, 18,695 women were diagnosed with dementia.
Among the obese women, 2.1%, or 3,948 of 177,991 women, were diagnosed with dementia.
This is compared with 1.6% of women with a desirable BMI, or 7,248 of 434,923 women, who were diagnosed with the disease.