A groundbreaking new study, which used data collected in Trinity, has established a potential link between excess weight and cognitive impairments such as dementia, in research that is likely to have major consequences for medical approaches to cognitive development.
The study found that a higher ratio between the size of the waist and hips was associated with reduced cognitive function. On the contrary, body mass index (BMI) was found to protect cognitive function.
Previous studies have found that people who are overweight do not perform as well on tests of memory and visuospatial ability compared to those who are normal weight. However, this is the first study of its kind to link such findings to cognitive impairment in old age. The results suggest that reducing obesity and exposure to other obesity-related risk factors could offer a new public health strategy for the prevention of cognitive decline. There are many things that we can all do to improve cognitive functions, like eating vegetables. If you do a quick google search into sites such as LCR Health, you’ll be able to understand why this and many other factors are important when it comes to our health.
This is of particular concern within Ireland, as over half of the over 50s population is classified as being centrally obese, with only 16 per cent of men and 26 per cent of women reported to have a BMI within the normal range. The global prevalence of dementia, meanwhile, is predicted to increase from 24.3 million in 2001 to 81.1 million by 2040.
The study was carried out by researchers in St James’s Hospital Dublin in conjunction with Trinity and Ulster University, and used figures from the Trinity Ulster Department of Agriculture (TUDA) ageing cohort study, which comprises data from over 5000 individuals, gathered from thousands of elderly adults in Northern Ireland and Ireland.
The research, which received funding from Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine and the Northern Ireland Department for Employment and Learning is believed to be one of the largest studies of older adults to report these findings.
Clinical Associate Professor in Medical Gerontology at Trinity, Conal Cunningham, is the senior author of the study. He said in a press statement: “While we have known for some time that obesity is associated with negative health consequences our study adds to emerging evidence suggesting that obesity and where we deposit our excess weight could influence our brain health. This has significant public health implications.”
The news of this research comes after a string of research successes in Trinity. Just last week, four Trinity research projects were awarded starting grants from the prestigious European Research Council and research headed by Trinity’s School of Pharmacy recently received a major grant from Department of Agriculture.
