Sudden weight loss in an older person may signal the beginnings of dementia, according to a new research study.
The warning comes from a study at the University of South Florida that involved more than 1,800 Japanese Americans who were an average age of 72 when the study began. Researchers recorded body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio for eight years.
They discovered that people who lost weight quickly were three times more likely to develop dementia than those who lost weight gradually. Overweight participants who lost weight slowly saw their risk for dementia drop 82 percent, according to a Caring Today article on the study.
“What is likely going on is that … being thinner or losing weight more quickly in old age is a result of dementia that has not been detected yet,” said Tiffany F. Hughes, Ph.D., a study author who is now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pittsburg.
This is an interesting new find, as it seems that weight has not yet been a noticeable factor in the development of dementia. It is clearly visible through many of my past posts that the world is paying great attention to Alzheimer’s and dementia development in all age groups. Seniors are always the most at-risk, but it can show up in young people as well. While there are more ways of preventing dementia development being discovered recently, there are still people who have already been affected and require extra care. Home Instead Senior Care will be there for your loved ones who suffer from this terrible epidemic.
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