Long-Term Obesity Tied to Higher Dementia Risk in Healthy Older Adults

A study published in Age and Ageing suggests healthy older adults with long-term obesity may be at higher risk of developing dementia than non-overweight counterparts, reports Reuters Health . The researchers monitored two groups of dementia-free adults aged 65 to 74 years for up to 15 years. One group, deemed healthy, included 257,523 non-smokers who did not have cancer, heart failure, or multiple chronic health problems. The second cohort of 161,927 adults, considered unhealthy, smoked or had serious chronic medical issues. During the study's first 10 years, healthy people who were obese or overweight were less likely to develop dementia than healthy subjects at a normal weight. However, afterwards, obesity was tied to a 17 percent higher risk of dementia. A total of 9,774 people in the "healthy" cohort were diagnosed with dementia, and slightly more than 50 percent had lost at least 5.5 pounds in the 10 years prior to diagnosis. Meanwhile, 6,070 individuals in the unhealthy group developed dementia.