Obesity increases the risk of dementia

Obesity increases the risk of suffering from dementia later

21/08/2012

A French study found that people who are overweight suffer from limited memory later in life. On the basis of the long-term study, the scientists showed that the risk of dementia in obesity is significantly increased, even if the subjects did not suffer from complications such as diabetes or cardiovascular damage.

People who are overweight have a higher risk of becoming dementia. Research has confirmed the long-established association that obesity can have a negative impact on the brain. So far, the consequences of overweight, such as hypertension or diabetes, have been considered to be the cause of deteriorating memory. The thesis contradicted the clinical observations that even overweight people, who otherwise had no sequelae, showed a higher risk for the development of dementia.

Humans are considered adipos when they exceed the standard value of 30 according to the body mass index (BMI). Overweight medics speak at a value between 25 and 30, whereby the individual condition such as muscle mass and bone structure must be taken into account in the calculation.

At the study of the research group „Acharna Singh-Manou“ of the French Research Institute „Inserm“ A total of 6401 subjects (71.2 percent men) participated. All participants had reached the age of 50 at the beginning of their studies. The long-term observation lasted over ten years. During this time various medical and laboratory tests as well as memory tests were undertaken. „Subjects underwent four different cognitive tests (memory, reasoning, semantic and phonological tests)“, explain the researchers in the neurological journal "Neurology". These were carried out in the years 1997 to 1999, 2002 to 2004 and 2007 to 2009. At the end of the runs an average score was calculated for all participants. „At the end of the study, participants showed 31.0 percent of metabolic disorders such as diabetes, 52.7 percent retained their normal weight, 38.2 percent were overweight and 9.1 percent were already obese“, write the authors.

Obesity promotes mental decline
"During the ten years of the study, obesity scores for obese people and those with diseased metabolic levels were 22.5 percent faster than those at normal weight and without cardiovascular disease," the researchers report. Subjects who were not metabolic disorders such as high blood pressure, impaired blood lipid levels or high blood sugar but still overweight, showed in comparison to Dick and normal weight differences in the evaluation of the tests. The researchers summarize: „Our analysis showed the fastest cognitive decline in patients with obesity and the metabolic syndrome.“

According to the head of the neurological department at the University Hospital Kiel, Prof. Dr. med. Günther Deuschl, is there „no healthy obesity“. Although the participants showed no manifest dementia, the analysis showed that their „cognitive abnormalities in the long run“.

Fat narrows vessels
Nevertheless, obesity and brain disorders can only be speculated about. So scientists suspect that as a cause „Vascular-dependent disorders come into question because fat accumulates in the vessels and they constrict more and more“. The second theory of causative research states that adipose tissue secretes hormones, which in turn affect the brain's performance.

In addition to being overweight, however, according to the neurologist, underweight is not healthy for humans. So stressed Germany: „Man lives the longest and remains mentally and physically healthy if he has normal weight. Regular physical activity and an active mental and social life are the best preventive measures against dementia. "

Dementia risk increased by 80 percent
A similar study has already yielded a twin study by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. „Overweight in middle age increases the risk of dementia in old age by 80 percent“, is already the summary of the researchers. Even a permanent BMI value of 25 is sufficient to increase the risk of disease by 80 percent. (Sb)

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Picture: Gerd Altmann