Obese over-50s face far higher dementia risk

BEING obese in your 50s could massively raise the risk of developing dementia, a study has found.

Obesity increased the chances of developing the disease by almost a third compared to those of a healthy weight.

The risk was even higher for women with bulging waistlines, according to researchers.

Experts have warned that countries with high obesity rates such as Ireland are facing a dementia time bomb unless we do more to tackle obesity.

Scientists at University College London analysed data from 6,582 people who were part of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a database of over50s in England which stores information about health, wellbeing and economic circumstances in several time periods.

Compared with those with a ‘normal’ body mass index of between 18.5 and 24.9, the team found people whose BMI was 30 or higher at the start of the study period had a 31% greater risk of dementia at an average of 11 years later.

This risk was highest of all in women with abdominal obesity, measured using waist circumference. These women had a 39% increased risk of dementia compared to those who measured within a normal range. No difference was found in men. When BMI and waist circumference were combined, both obese men and women had a 28% greater risk.

The researchers suggest adopting healthier lifestyles, such as following a Mediterranean diet and exercising more – could significantly reduce the burden of the disease.

Professor Andrew Steptoe, director of the study, said: ‘Dementia is one of the major health challenges of the 21st century.’

In Ireland, three in five people are either overweight or obese.

Researchers suggest obesity can contribute to the accumulation of amyloid proteins or lesions in the brain, responsible for some types of dementia.

It can also damage blood vessels in the brain, which in turn leads to the death of brain cells, causing different parts of the brain to shrink.

The findings, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, suggest dementia is the latest in a long line of health problems linked to obesity, with soaring rates of cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease also blamed on excess pounds.

‘A major health challenge’