Could your weight affect your memory?

Shared by Nicki I think weight does effect my memory - as i can never remember if its 2 or 3 ginger nuts I've eaten!!

Could carrying some extra pounds affect your memory? Yes, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

What do we know already?

Being overweight affects your health in lots of ways. Some are well known, such as the increased chance of getting heart problems, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure. Others are less obvious, such as research showing that obesity is linked to a higher risk of cancer. Researchers have now looked at whether being overweight could affect people's memory.

What does the new study say?

Researchers looked at 8,745 women aged between 65 and 79. They all took a memory test called the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination. They answered questionnaires about their health, lifestyle, and background. They also had their height, weight, and blood pressure measured. The researchers calculated that every extra point of body mass index (BMI – your weight in kilograms divided by the square of your height in metres) led to a 1-point drop in the memory test. The effect was more pronounced for women who carried extra weight around their hips (the so-called 'pear shape'), compared with women who carried it around their waists (the 'apple shape'). Heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes were also linked to a lower score in the memory test.

How reliable is the research?

The researchers say they found a link between being overweight and having a poorer memory, but we don't know why. One possibility is that being overweight influences hormone levels in a way that affects the brain. It's also possible that the negative affects obesity has on your heart and circulation have knock-on affects in the brain. However, it's quite possible that there is no causal relationship, and a third factor affects both weight and memory.

Where does the study come from?

The researchers were based at several US universities, including Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, and the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The study appeared in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, published by the American Geriatrics Society.

What does this mean for me?

While the researchers found a link between being overweight and having a poorer memory, none of the women scored outside the 'normal' range for the test. So it's not clear if the effect is big enough to make a noticeable difference in everyday life. The study only looked at white women, so we don't know if the results would apply to other ethnic groups.

What should I do now?

In general, if you're overweight, losing weight is a positive step as far as your health is concerned. However, it's worth talking to your doctor to make sure you're on the right track. Previous research has suggested that being slightly overweight may not be particularly harmful for older people, like many of the women in this study. Some doctors think that the best advice for older people is to keep active, eat sensibly, and maintain your current weight.

From:

Kerwin DR, Zhang Y, Kotchen JM, et al. The cross-sectional relationship between body mass index, waist–hip ratio, and cognitive performance in postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.02969.x To read more, see our information on obesity. © BMJ Publishing Group Limited ("BMJ Group") 2010