Being underweight in the middle ages increases risks of dementia, new research in this field has revealed. This also contradicts the earlier held belief that overweight people run a higher risk of dementia as they grow older.
It is those with a Body Mass Index of less than 20 that are found to be the most prone to have dementia. This group have been found to have 34 percent higher changes of dementia as they grow older than those with a MBI of 20 to below 25.
What has come as a surprise to many is that those with a BMI higher than 40 have 29 percent less chances of having dementia in say the next 15 years than those in the normal weight category, BBC revealed.
Researchers from the Oxon Epidemiology and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine have been able to arrive at the above conclusion after an exhaustive study covering about 2 million patients - 1,958,191 to be precise - for a period of two decades. The average age of those who were included in the study group is 55 years.
"That's contrary to most if not all studies that have been done, but if you collect them all together our study overwhelms them in terms of size and precision," said Dr Nawab Qizilbash.
Dr Qizilbash though has been quick to warn that the new findings should not be taken as an excuse to put on more weight just to ward of risks of dementia. Obesity, on the other hand can lead to a whole lot of health issues such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and even some forms of cancer.
Researchers have been unable to explain the outcome of the findings thought they believe it is the layer of extra fat that could in some way be helping prevent dementia. The role of other unknown factors can not be ruled out either, MNT reported.
"The results raise questions about the links between weight and dementia risk. Clearly, further research is needed to understand this fully," said Dr Simon Ridley, of Alzheimer's Research UK.