In a new study, researchers found that in older people, big weight gain or weight loss may increase their risk of dementia.
The research was conducted by a team of Korean scientists.
Dementia is a serious brain disease in older people. It was estimated there were 46.8 million people diagnosed with dementia in 2015.
Meanwhile, obesity has become a big burden on public health. It has increased by more than 100% over the past four decades.
Obesity is a big risk factor for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
Previous research has shown that there is a link between heart disease risk factors and dementia.
However, how body mass index (BMI) in late-life is linked to dementia risk remains unclear.
In the study, the team examined the link between BMI changes over a two-year period and dementia in elderly Korean adults.
They tested 67,219 participants aged 60-79 years.
After two years, the rate of dementia was monitored for an average of 5.3 years from 2008 to 2013.
The team found that during the 5.3 years, 4,887 men and 6,685 women developed dementia.
There is a strong link between late-life BMI changes and dementia.
In addition, rapid weight change over a two-year period was linked to a higher risk of dementia compared with people with a stable BMI.
The team also found that pre-existing high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, diabetes, and high fasting blood sugar were significant risk factors for dementia.
Unhealthy lifestyle habits such as smoking, frequent alcohol drinking and less physical activity in late life were also linked to dementia.
The team suggests that both weight gain and weight loss may be a big risk factors for dementia.
Severe weight gain, uncontrolled diabetes, smoking and less physical activity in late-life could contribute to dementia development.
The study is published in the online journal BMJ Open.
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