Obesity Linked With Lower Cognitive Function in Older Adults in New Study

Obesity is always a hot button topic, and a new study has some more not-so-great news to break to the horizontally challenged.

The research out of Korea deals with a specific age bracket- 60 to 70 year old adults- with higher than average Body Mass Index, or BMI. The study involved 250 adults within those parameters, and was published in the British medical journal Age and Ageing. What it found was that the adults with higher BMIs also displayed lower cognitive function in testing.

Dae Hyun Yoon, a researcher at Seoul National University Hospital Healthcare System in South Korea, told the BBC that the study’s findings also seemed to indicate that visceral fat- in the abdominal area- was more closely linked with decreased cognitive function:

“Our findings have important public health implications. The prevention of obesity, particularly central obesity, might be important for the prevention of cognitive decline or dementia.”

Interesting, after the age of 70, obesity seemed to actually protect participants against dementia. Recent studies indicate that obesity may contribute to 7% of Alzheimer’s cases overall.

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Tags: Alzheimer's, Dementia, obesity

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Kim LaCapria Kim LaCapria is a writer and editor based in New York. A longtime information junkie, she began blogging full-time at the Inquisitr in 2009. Prior to that, she worked as a marketing assistant in the cosmetics and skincare industry. In addition to her writing for fortytwotimes, she also writes for Medacity and The Inquisitr. Kim is also a contributor for SocialNewsDaily, Indyposted, and TotallyMoney. In the past, she contributed to Lipstick and Luxury and managed social media accounts and blogs for several small and mid-sized businesses.