Men can lose their memory a decade before women if they are obese, research shows.
Dementia affects millions worldwide, slowly robbing them of their memories and independence with people over the age of 75 more likely to be affected.
But a team at Imperial College London discovered that obesity can cause men in particular to develop the memory robbing condition years earlier.
Researchers studied 34,000 adults in the UK Biobank aged 45 to 82 with obesity, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes — all risk factors for dementia.
They found that in overweight men, brain volume and function started to decline between the ages of 55 and 74, while overweight women were most susceptible between the ages of 65 and 74 — a decade later than men.
Adults with heart disease or obesity are more likely to develop dementia. Researchers say this is because it can trigger inflammation and poor blood supply to the brain and lead to cognitive decline.
The new study, published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, is the first to show how poor cardiovascular health impacts the brains of different sexes at different ages.
Throughout the study the volume and weight of participants’ brains were monitored using scans to asses the influence of cardiovascular risk and fat on brain neurodegeneration — the progressive loss of neurons in the brain, which can cause dementia.
Researchers found that in overweight men, brain volume and function started to decline between the ages of 55 and 74, while overweight women were most susceptible between the ages of 65 and 74 — a decade later
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. The disease can cause anxiety, confusion and short-term memory loss
Researchers found higher levels of belly fat was associated with a lower brain grey matter volume, which is associated with dementia.
However, this belly fat to smaller brain volume ratio was stronger in men than women.
Professor Paul Edison of the department of Brain Sciences at Imperial, who led the study, urged doctors to intervene early to help prevent dementia and to specifically target cardiovascular risk and obesity in men decades earlier.
Researchers suggested that weight-loss jabs, such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, could be ‘repurposed’ to treat Alzheimer’s, which is the most common type of dementia.
There are currently estimated to be 982,000 people with dementia in the UK. This number is expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040.
An estimated 6.7million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s dementia today. This number could grow to 13.8 million by 2060.
But about 40 per cent of dementia cases are thought to be preventable, according to the NHS.
Experts say making lifestyle changes such as losing weight, doing more exercise or giving up smoking, could ward off the condition.
