DALLAS: New research says people’s weight in middle age may influence not just whether they go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease, but when.
Obesity in midlife has long been suspected of increasing the risk of Alzheimer’s later in life. Researchers took a closer look and reported that being overweight or obese at age 50 may affect the age, years later, when Alzheimer’s strikes. Among those who eventually got sick, more middle-age pounds meant an earlier onset of disease.
It will take larger studies to prove whether the flip side is true – that keeping trim during middle age might stall later-in-life Alzheimer’s. But it probably won’t hurt.
“Maintaining a healthy (body mass index) at midlife is likely to have long-lasting protective effects,” said…