Thursday 28 June 2007

Don't "weight" to reduce your risk of Alzheimer's

The Alzheimer's Society has warned that in 50 years' time, up to 2.5 million people in the UK could suffer from dementia unless there is a reduction in the levels of obesity.

Here are some facts about obesity and Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia and there is no cure for this condition.

Currently, around 700,000 people suffer from dementia (more than half have Alzheimer's disease) in the UK.

Age is the biggest risk factor for Alzheimer's.

1 in 3 older people will end their lives with a form of dementia.

Obesity is a huge risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. According to Clive Ballard, director of research at the Alzheimer's Society, "People who are obese at 60 are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's by the time they are 75."

Research has shown that a healthy diet and regular exercise can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's.

But lifestyle factors such as obesity, smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol also affect a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's.

For tips and advice on what you can do to to reduce your risk, visit the Alzheimer Society's website here.

3 comments:

alvinwriter said...

Research has also revealed that stress can be a factor to developing neurofibrillary tangles in the brain that causes Alzheimer's disease. Certainly, some of the factors mentioned can indeed be stressful. http://www.thenewsroom.com/details/418326/Health?c_id=wom-bc-ar

- Alvin from The Health Desk at TheNewsRoom.com

Chichi said...

Thank you for adding this information. Stress seems to be implicated in many diseases.

Chichi
www.NutritionIQ.net

alvinwriter said...

Indeed it is, and obesity can and is stressful to some degree, physically, emotionally, and mentally. This is even more true in today's society that stresses the health problems associated with being overweight and the tendency of popular culture to idolize slim figures. But what's good about all this is that people become conscious of the problems and can act to make things right with their bodies. A good step would be to adopt a healthy diet, like Mediterranean. http://www.thenewsroom.com/details/418326/Health?c_id=wom-bc-ar

- Alvin from The Health Desk at TheNewsRoom.com