Midlife obesity and dementia: meta-analysis and adjusted forecast of dementia prevalence in the United States and China.

Abstract in brief

• Midlife obesity significantly increases the risk of developing dementia later in life, with overweight (BMI 25-30) associated with a 1.34 times higher risk and obesity (BMI 30 or more) linked to a 1.91 times higher risk.
• Including obesity trends in future dementia prevalence forecasts suggests that the number of affected individuals in the US and China by 2030 and 2050 will be substantially higher—up to 113 million in the US and 274 million in China—compared to models that only consider demographic changes.
• The rising rates of midlife obesity will play a major role in increasing dementia cases, highlighting the importance of public health efforts to reduce obesity as a way to prevent future dementia cases.