Being overweight reduces dementia risk.

LYN T

Registered User
Aug 30, 2012
6,958
0
Brixham Devon
Ha! So all those previous reports about keeping your weight under control to avoid Dementia were wrong?:(:confused: Bring on the chocolate:)
 

clareglen

Registered User
Jul 9, 2013
318
0
Cumbria
I knew this really. My mum has always been underweight & now on end of life care. All the other ladies with dementia in her room are skin & bone too.
 

Oxy

Registered User
Jul 19, 2014
953
0
Quite incensed at this new announcement on news this morning. What about vascular dementia which is caused by clogging of arteries. Whilst being fully aware that weight does not always have a bearing on the state of arteries, atherosclerosis is predominantly present to a greater extent in obese folk. I felt what a sweeping statement that will not help prevent cardiovascular disease which precedes vascular dementia.
 

Dustycat

Registered User
Jul 14, 2014
215
0
North East
I think all these studies are very interesting and will hopefully eventually lead us to a cure but, having had both parents with dementia, who were both active, normal weight, no other health problems and kept an active mind, I believe it's a lottery. If I had lined up 1000 people in a room 10 years ago I wouldn't have picked out my parents as the ones to get dementia. X
 

marsaday

Registered User
Mar 2, 2012
541
0
I wonder is it because those who are overweight tend to die of other illnesses first before they get dementia? There has always been a link between thinness and longevity. They just live longer and therefore are more at risk.
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,072
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Bury
"...I wonder is it because those who are overweight tend to die of other illnesses first before they get dementia?..."


This was factored into the study.

"These patterns persisted throughout two decades of follow-up, after adjustment for potential confounders and allowance for the J-shape association of BMI with mortality."
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,072
0
Bury
"...Being overweight is not good for your health..."

The study did not say that being overweight was good for your health.

It said that being underweight carried an increased risk of dementia.

These are two entirely different statements.

Studies like this may ultimately lead to a better understanding of the reasons why some people are affected by dementia.
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,072
0
Bury
"...This thread has tended to imply that if you are overweight you have less risk of getting dementia..."

Which was the interpretation of the study.

Whether or not being overweight is good or bad for your general health is irrelevant.
 

Grannie G

Volunteer Moderator
Apr 3, 2006
81,442
0
Kent
This is a discussion showing the different interpretations people have of the topic. It does not need to become personal.
 

Kevinl

Registered User
Aug 24, 2013
6,050
0
Salford
My mother weighed less than she ever had in the time I knew her when she was diagnosed, part of the reason for my concern about her health was her weight loss, hence I took her to the doctors at which time I expressed concerns about her memory issues and the tests started and it lead to a diagnosis of AZ.
Likewise years later with my wife she went down from a dress size 12-14 (and a couple of size 16's in the wardrobe too (don't tell her I told you that bit) and eventually when we got it through to the doctors something was wrong and to stop fobbing it of as "women of a certain age" issues she weighed in at 6st 4lb.
Unless they've considered whole life average weight and not just at the time of diagnosis then it would be a bit meaningless, maybe they did I can't see anything either way.
Until someone explains the science then all it is at the moment is a coincidence and as I've said before coincidence doesn't prove causality. Italians eat a lot of pasta, Italy has a problem with organised crime, therefore eating pasta caused organised crime.
Based on my own observations (so totally none scientific) I would say those in the lighter end of the weight scale do seem to be the vast majority of those I see with AZ and there is a noticeable lack of the very overweight compared to the general demographic, but maybe they have mobility issues so don't go to the day centres.
K
 

Jenn

Registered User
Feb 24, 2009
50
0
Leeds
Being someone who has always been naturally underweight this is sick news to me....However the fact you always see thin people with Alzheimer's means nothing, as the disease itself makes you lose weight, though no doubt the study allowed for this.
 

marsaday

Registered User
Mar 2, 2012
541
0
"...I wonder is it because those who are overweight tend to die of other illnesses first before they get dementia?..."


This was factored into the study.

"These patterns persisted throughout two decades of follow-up, after adjustment for potential confounders and allowance for the J-shape association of BMI with mortality."

Point taken. I hadn't read the full study.
 

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