Ever since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the majority of the people in the world have begun to take health seriously. Earlier it was only fan tired and extra fancy jeans that were looked upon for being healthy. However, after the onset of coronavirus all over the world, people have started to take their weight, their overall BMI, and their healthy lifestyle a bit more seriously as it seems that the reality has struck the world with Covid.
We all know how parents were extremely cautious about nutrition and wellness when we were in the infants and toddlers stage. They ensure that the nearest a body with all the essential vitamins and minerals and also make sure that our body grows in a way that we have the best immunity to fight all kinds of diseases are there in the world. However, as we age, it is our responsibility to look after our health not just because it is in trend but we need to look at it with genuine sight so that our aging period is smooth and confined.
If we need to eat like red wine, it is a cognitive health problem that we need to lay focus on. If a cognitive head is rich, then the rest of the body parts function optimally automatically. Therefore as you wish, ensure that you are giving enough importance to cognitive health. There are several studies popping up these days that talk about weight management helping in maintaining cognitive health as one ages. Recent study that was published on dementia and Alzheimer’s talks about the ability of maintaining a stable weight as a significant factor for healthy brain health as one tends to get older. If there is stability in your BMI levels, then there will be a very slow rate of cognitive decline as you age and we are talking of not just specific cognitive functions but on a global cognition level as well.
Now who thought that just by maintaining weight, you can gain control over your brain’s health, right? Let’s read on to understand more about how weight management is connected to good cognitive health.
Understanding the study further
In this research, the researchers observed nearly 16,000 numbers of older adults who were made to undergo dementia screening every five years. The researchers found that those adults who had quite a lot of changes in their BMI levels represented nearly a 5% decrease or increase in their likelihood of decline in cognitive health. This result holds true regardless of the status of BMI at the start including those who had underweight or normal weight. One of the main reasons for stable DNI to protect cognitive health is that it helps maintain the equilibrium of the body with respect to other vital health markers such as cholesterol and BP. Certain research that was conducted before this one also indicates similar results saying that BMI stability is directly associated with less disability, frailty, and also early mortality. And there is clinical research that backs this result. And clinical values found in BMI are much easier to track as we age.
There is mixed evidence
Whether carrying excess weight is helpful or harmful for brain health while we age is still a topic that is up for debate. There are several doctors and researchers who have suffered from greater cognitive impairment and cases of dementia with greater BMI values in participants who are elderly in their previous studies. For example, a particular study came to a conclusion that circumference is directly correlated with poor cognitive health in older women who suffer from type two diabetes. Another study shows that nearly 45,000 people who are obese during a period of 12 years beginning from then midlife to ageing time found that there was an association between dementia and obesity for certain age groups. But the risk is known to diminish as one gets older. In old age, if you have a greater BMI, then it shows that you are at a much higher risk of dementia and cognitive impairment.
Consider movement more than weight loss
When we went through certain study results that were very recent in nature, we understood that it is highly possible to focus on certain weight changes for improved cognitive health and to lead a longer life. The emphasis is here to put as we age is to learn more words finding love in mobility and fitness. This holds true even for people who suffer from obesity. Recent research review of 2021 in the iscience journal states that there was a reduction in mortality risk as weight reduces compared to just doing physical activity. In this research, the researchers claim that people will benefit more from a neutral approach towards weight which focuses on health and not just weight management or weight loss. When a person becomes physically active, the body weight automatically decreases but this doesn’t hold true in most cases. And this might get very frustrating for the person who is trying to lose weight and keeping weight loss as their primary goal. Having an approach that is weight neutral will eliminate the weight loss from the result equation and focuses only on improving the overall health — for example, improved function, weight stability, and mobility. It also ensures that there is an improvement in certain health parameters like BP and blood sugar. There is data that shows just two minutes of walking at a speed of moderate to brisk every single hour helps improve blood sugar in the body.