Weight Loss to Lower Risk of Alzheimers

Millions of people around the country are overweight and obese, and the condition may come with a host of health problems including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and asthma. A recent study published in “Molecular Psychiatry” suggests that overweight individuals may need to add Alzheimer’s disease to that list, which means it may be more important than ever to begin eating healthfully and to visit a weight loss clinic.

Dementia impacts millions of people around the country, and more than five million of those sufferers have Alzheimer’s disease. There are some risk factors for Alzheimer’s like family history and the presence of a specific gene, but there’s a growing body of evidence to suggest that obesity can also contribute to the onset of the disease.

About the Study

In a write-up on the study published through the U.S. National Library of Medicine, it would appear researchers found evidence to suggest too much weight during midlife could lead to dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. The study featured 142 patients who had an average age of 83, and scientists found that people who were overweight at the age of 50 were more likely to develop early Alzheimer’s.

One of the reasons the results of the study were important was because one of the goals of scientists has been to delay the onset of the disease. An Alzheimer’s diagnosis is never good news, but seeing the disease develop at age 80 is far preferable to a diagnosis at age 60. Although the study didn’t find conclusively that midlife obesity means early-onset Alzheimer’s, they did compare rates of midlife obesity to risky habits like smoking and attributes like high cholesterol.

The scientists also performed brain autopsies on the study participants and found that the people who had been heavier in midlife also had more brain tangles. In patients with Alzheimer’s, patients have tangled strands of protein in their brain that doctors call tangles. However, the scientists running the study weren’t sure if those tangles occurred because of an early Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

What Scientists Concluded

At the close of the study, scientists were able to draw some connections between being heavy in midlife and Alzheimer’s Disease including the fact that the higher one’s BMI is in midlife, the earlier that person was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. On average, people who were overweight or obese in midlife saw their diagnosis around 6.7 months before other patients who weren’t overweight in midlife.

BMI is your “body mass index,” and it’s the general number doctors use to measure whether you’re underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese. It’s usually difficult to use BMI when measuring an athlete’s weight; however, the measurement is appropriate as a general indication of weight and health for the general population.

In more evidence that weight and obesity is linked to early-onset Alzheimer’s, the researchers also found that the patients with higher BMIs – such as those into the obese range – saw their diagnoses even earlier than patients with overweight BMIs. For example, a patient with a BMI of 35 (obese) would likely see an earlier diagnosis than someone with a BMI of 28 (overweight).

Losing Weight in Midlife

As you may know, your metabolism slows down as you age. Your metabolism is the rate at which your body uses energy to keep you alive. Someone who’s twenty-years-old will burn more calories sitting on the couch all day than someone in his fifties. That’s why exercise and good diet become increasingly important as you age. It’s incredibly easy to gain weight when you’re entering midlife, and it’s incredibly important to avoid being overweight at any time in your life.

Doctors already warn of the risks of too much weight, but the number of individuals who are overweight has been increasing in almost all demographics. If you’re interested in receiving help losing weight, you’ll want to consider the helpful doctors of Pro-Care Medical Center and our weight loss clinic. Don’t live your life with unnecessary risk and harmful extra weight. Commit to a healthy diet and exercise program.

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