Obesity, but not poor diet and inactivity, linked to higher risk of dementia

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/aaon-obn121519.php

American Academy of Neurology
News Release 18-Dec-2019

A large study that followed more than one million women for nearly two decades has found that obesity in midlife is linked to a greater risk of dementia later in life; however, poor diet and lack of exercise are not.

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However, while low calorie intake and inactivity were associated with a higher risk of dementia during the first 10 years of the study, these associations weakened substantially, and after 15 years, neither was strongly linked to dementia risk.

"Other studies have shown that people become inactive and lose weight up to a decade before they are diagnosed with dementia," said Floud. "The short-term links between dementia, inactivity and low calorie intake are likely to be the result of the earliest signs of the disease, before symptoms start to show."

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A limitation of the study was that it looked at women only, so the results may not be the same for men.