Age-proofing Your Brain, Weight, 1

What does weight have to do with anything except wardrobe—and whose business is it anyway? Researchers say it’s your business. The bad news: Obesity is now linked with more than 50 diseases—including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, cancer and cancer reoccurrence, and dementia. Obesity may even be worse for females. Women who are obese throughout life are at increased risk for developing dementia, perhaps due to increased secretion of cortisol. As a female I’ve watched that acted out in my own family—I’ve also seen the opposite, so thin as to be malnourished.

The good news: there is a middle ground and most people can attain that—even if some need a little help. The World Health Organization or WHO defines overweight and obesity as an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair one’s health. Overweight means you have a Body Mass Index or BMI greater than or equal to 25. Obesity means a BMI greater than or equal to 30.

More tomorrow.