A recent study conducted by the National Institutes of Health in Maryland discovered an association between overweight seniors and Alzheimer’s disease. If someone is determined to be overweight by 50 years of age, Alzheimer’s may develop several years ahead of seniors who maintained a healthy weight. The findings were published in the journal, Molecular Psychiatry, helmed by lead researcher, Madhay Thambisetty of the US National Institute of Aging.

The study tracked more than 1,000 adults for a fourteen year period to measure their body weight index or BMI. Of the participants, 10 percent had become stricken with Alzheimer’s at an average of 83 years old. Within this test pool, subjects over 50 years old who had a BMI of 30 became more susceptible to Alzheimer’s compared to those with a lower BMI, indicating a relationship between obesity and the disease.

Consistent with other unrelated studies, maintaining a healthy BMI could prevent the early emergence of Alzheimer’s. And analysts agree that more empirical data is needed to conclude how healthy living not only benefits cardiovascular performance but brain functioning later in life. Brain clogging was found to occur in members of the control group, which can develop as much as 10 years prior to the development of dementia.

Conclusions were also confirmed by brain scans performed on participants during their life and/or autopsies were rendered. Doctors determine an overweight person to have a BMI higher than 25 and obese at 30 or over. Normal BMI ranges between 18 and 25. Obesity is considered an epidemic in the United States, and hopefully the population won’t forget that.

Source: Blasting News