A new theory

Well said NanaDenise.
Agree with you too Nellie, I heard the lead researcher on the radio saying that it was only an association, and very far from being cause and effect.

Looking at the age range covered in this report which appears to be 45-66
with a follow up of 6-12 years, I would think this is likely to be early onset dementia.
I also wonder how low fat diets have contributed because everyone needs healthy fats in their diet to maintain brain health.
The evidence for many of the suggested diets we are advised to follow (5 a day, low fat, low carbs) does not seem to be based on good factual data, but seems to be promoted by multi-national corporations who often fund the research.
Lets go back to moderation in everything we eat, portion control and a wide range of fresh foods. Limit processed foods and enjoy our food instead of feeling guilty about it.

Whitewave Not even I believe everything on the BBC. I do follow the Archers.

You really need to read the comments made by the researchers who themselves are not yet drawing any firm conclusions about these figures.

www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/10/underweight-people-face-significantly-higher-risk-of-dementia-study-suggests

This appears so far, to just be a statistical finding and according to the article there has not been any further information which might suggest a possible cause of these findings. All it is at present is an observation on one study.

However our press just love to run with such a story in a way that probably makes the authors cringe.

Try reading Ben Goldacre's Bad Science blog.
www.badscience.net/about-dr-ben-goldacre/

Well I wouldn't go so far to say that just that thought Nellie would like a reference!!

So it must be true?

Nell it was on BBC news

Theses findings are "Ok But"! Could it be that people who are at a very early stage of dementia, before even showing any possible signs might be losing interest in food and eat less so beocome thinner. Another Chicken and Egg situation.

Has anyone seen a reliable link about these findings? I am very suspicious of these news items that give very little information.

I will do some digging.

I have nursed quite a few obese people with dementia during my career as an RMN.

Fat people die earlier from weight related illnesses, thin people live longer and go on to develop dementia, by dint of their advanced years.
This is not based on any scientific research.

My mother was border line anorexic and at her thinest was 5 stone. She was 5`4" tall.

At 84 she had a really bad dementia.

I'm not convinced there is a connection between weight and dementia but at 5`3" and 11 stone in weight I'm hoping there might be truth in it.

As you can see I don't take after mum.

I was a volunteer in an Old Peoples' Home for a year and the dementia sufferers were both thin and overweight .

I think most illnesses are down to luck. My dad didn't smoke or drink and took regular excercise. He died at 55 from a stroke.

Penstemmon I'm only 5 foot, so I'll have to watch out!

Hmm..short people have a greater tendency to heart disease and skinny people are more likely to get dementia. At 5'2' and 2 stone overweight I think,rather than diet, I will just put myself on the rack and extend myself!

I shall be ignoring this hypothesis, same as all the others.

Well, it is interesting actually. Not making excuses for not losing weight, but... My mil suddenly became absolutely obsessed with losing weight when she turned 70- I'd always known her to be a bit chubby. And sure enough, she go quite thin and then dementia set-in. I've seen it happen with several people fairly recently- first this obsession with eating less and less and boasting about it, and then obsession with more and more exercise- and then other changes in behaviour that slowly turn out to be the onset of dementia/Alzheimers. We often wondered with my mil at the time, and other people too.

Mind you, both my parents were skeletal by the time of their demise, at 94 and 96, and both had all their marbles and more...

I definitely want to lose some weight-but I truly don't think older people look well when they lose too much. It can be embarrassing when people tell you how wonderful they look with all that weight lost, and you think, hmmmm actually wou look haggard, but you can't say so.

Demential/ Alzheimers or a severe debilitating stroke is my absolute terror - and would much prefer go of a heart attack. And where I live, should I be struck by some other terrible disease, at least I have the choice of what to do next and take a sort 'exit' if I want to- choice which is taken away with dementia or Alzheimers.

Unfortunately this research finding has been challenged by other researchers. There is a letter in the Independent today challenging the results quite convincingly.

Ah well, back to the 5:2 diet.

I often wonder whether the reason people in care homes are always thinner is because they no longer have control over their diet. They can't simply go to the fridge or cupboard and help themselves when the fancy takes them. And the portions served at mealtimes in the care homes I've visited are usually small.
My mother-in-law used to try to eat her food much too fast, so the staff at her home started giving her a teaspoon instead of a desert spoon to slow her down. I used to suspect that she ate quickly because she was on starvation rations and always felt hungry. I used to make her favourite fruit cake and take it in, all cut into portions so she could eat it whenever she wanted to. One day one of the staff mentioned how nice the fruit cake was. And she knew this how??? No point challenging her because she'd have said MiL had offered her some - and given that MiL had dementia it would be impossible to check with her.

My grandmother always said that when a woman reaches a certain age, she needs a bit of weight about her! She suffered from dementia in her later years though. I think that there is a predisposition in some people, and that dementia is inevitable no matter how you live your life.

I'm fed up with all this research. Something is bound to come out some weeks later to contradict it.

Drat! Still I'll have the odd pie in the meantime

But if they all lost their appetites in later life, that could happen to you too, Jane10 (or indeed to any of us). So we'd then become thin and more likely to be affected by dementia!

You can't win...

I was so happy when I read about this research. They looked at all the other studies too and seemed to have a large cohort. It fair cheered me up. Mind you I never saw a very old fat person. Everyone in advanced old age that I ever saw in the many and various care homes and wards that I've visited seemed to be very thin. The older members of our family all seemed to completely lose their appetites as they became very elderly. Some marbles seemed to be lost as well as they became thinner.
There seems to be some sort of protective factor in fat. Yippee!

I stopped putting butter on toast etc when having another topping - jam, marmite. I could see the point and lost the taste for it. But I always bake with butter. x

My Grandmother was fairly substantial (well-built) but not huge and suffered from dementia in her later life. So many different studies show different results and to be honest, I've stopped being concerned about the possible ramifications of bad habits (cake!). I try to have a well balanced diet but I am thinking about going back to butter. My DH always leaves the spread out and this week it has separated into little yellow bits and oil. Yuk! Totally unusable - at least butter can still be used in it's liquid state and tastes so much better in cake than substitutes.