Overweight is one of the widely recognized risk factors of Alzheimer’s disease. But lower BMI seems also to increase a risk of the disease. According to a recent study, a combination of higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s and lower BMI, especially in older men, could increase a risk of Alzheimer’s and predict the disease progression.

The researchers warn that you shouldn’t not interpret their findings as a call to gain weight to reduce the chance of developing Alzheimer’s. On the contrary, maintaining a healthy weight and eating a healthy diet are key lifestyle aspects to keep inflammation and oxidative stress down. In this way you can improve your life and prevent neurodegenerative processes as much as possible.

A lower BMI, on the other hand, could be a sign of a potential disease process as Alzheimer’s damages progressively the brain regions that are involved in controlling eating behaviors and weight regulation.

Besides, the interaction between the genetics and lower BMI are found to cause even more damage in certain brain regions, increasing the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s. This interaction seems to be stronger in men than in women. The reason why it happens, is not clear and is needed to be investigated further.

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