Underweight people face significantly higher risk of dementia, study suggests

Research involving health records of 2 million people condradicts current thinking, sparking surprise among authors and health experts

People who are underweight in middle-age – or even on the low side of normal weight – run a significantly higher risk of dementia as they get older, according to new research which contradicts current thinking.

The results of the large study, involving health records from 2 million people in the UK, have surprised the authors and other experts. It has been wrongly claimed that obese people have a higher risk of dementia, say the authors from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In fact, the numbers appear to show that increased weight is protective.

Our results suggest that doctors and policymakers need to rethink how to best identify who is at high risk of dementia

This study doesn’t tell us that being underweight causes dementia, or that being overweight will prevent the condition

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