Obesity Can Increase The Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease By Up To 80%

“The experts, from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and the University of Iowa in the US, found obese people had an increased risk of all types of dementia. Pooled results showed that being underweight increased the risk of any kind of dementia by 36 per cent while being obese increased it by 42 per cent. When it came to Alzheimer's disease, being obese increased the risk by 80 per cent, while obesity also increased the risk of vascular dementia by 73 per cent. Experts do not know exactly why obesity impacts on the risk of dementia, although high blood pressure is thought to play a role. Obesity, smoking, high blood pressure and cholesterol could increase the risk of dementia because it leads to damage to the blood vessels in the brain, which in turn leads to the death of brain cells. Today's researchers said high body mass index is also linked to a lack of exercise and depression, both of which are linked to cognitive impairment. Dementia affects between six per cent and 10 per cent of people aged 65 years or older, two-thirds of whom have Alzheimer's disease.”

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