Maintaining a constant weight throughout our lives can bring us an unexpected benefit as we age. According to a study published in “Alzheimer’s & Dementia” the different patterns of change in the body nothingness index (BMI) throughout life may be an indicator of dementia risk.
Dementia is a growing global public health problem that currently affects to 50 million people and is expected to rise dramatically to over 150 million cases worldwide by 2050.
Obesity, commonly measured by body mass index (BMI), remains a global epidemic, and previous studies have suggested that obesity in midlife may increase the risk of dementia. But the relationship between BMI and dementia risk remains unclear.
Researchers from Boston University (USA) and the Academy China Medical Sciences & Peking Union College of Medicine, have found that different patterns of BMI change over a lifetime can be an indicator of a person’s risk of dementia.
“These findings are important because previous studies looking at weight trajectories did not take into account how patterns of weight gain/stability/loss might help signal that dementia is potentially imminent,” explains author Rhoda Au.
through the Framingham Heart Study (the longest-running cohort study on cardiovascular risk that began in 1948), a group of participants were followed for 39 years and their weight was measured approximately every 2-4 years.
Dementia is not necessarily inevitable early intervention opportunities could be offered
The researchers compared different weight patterns (steady, gain, loss) between those who had dementia and those who did not.
In this way they discovered that the general trend of decreased BMI was associated with a increased risk of developing dementia.
However, upon further exploration, they found a subgroup with a pattern of initially increasing BMI followed by decreasing BMI, both in middle age, which appeared to be central to the association between decreased BMI and dementia.
Au points out that for individuals, family members, and primary care physicians, it is relatively easy to control weight. “If after a steady increase in weight, which is common as one gets older, there is an unexpected shift towards weight loss after middle age, it would be a good idea to see your doctor and find out why. Some treatments are emerging potential whose early detection it could be decisive for the effectiveness of any of them as they are approved and become available, “he adds.
The researchers hope this study illustrates that the seeds of dementia risk are sown over many years, possibly even a lifetime. “Dementia is not necessarily inevitable and tracking risk indicators, such as something as easy to notice as weight patterns, could offer opportunities for early intervention that can change the trajectory of disease onset and progression.”