Midlife obesity could lead to increased risk of earlier Alzheimer's

According to a new study, every additional unit in body mass index (BMI) in middle age pointed to earlier development of Alzheimer's by nearly 6.5 months. The authors have named it a 'robust' correlation.

According to the study, a healthy BMI during midlife could delay the development of Alzheimer's disease. The recorded BMI of over 1,300 Americans was used by researchers. The participants were examined for an average of 14 years after they were signed up to carry out the study.

It was found in the study that 142 participants developed the disease at an average age of 83.

The debilitating disorder is the most widespread form of dementia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dementia affects about 50 million people throughout the world. Nearly 7.7 million new cases appear every year.

It has been estimated by the WHO that over 1.9 billion adults, out of total population of seven billion in the world, were overweight last year. According to the organization, 13% of the people were obese.

According to study's lead author Madhav Thambisetty from the National Institute on Aging of the US health department's National Institutes of Health, they have found that for every unit of increase in BMI when the individuals were 50 years of age, Alzheimer's disease was developed on average 6.5 months earlier.

Thambisetty added, "We also found in individuals whose brains we could examine after they died, that every unit of increase in body mass index was associated with more neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, which is one of the key pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's".