This is a new study for women Excess Weight in Older Women Linked to Diminished Memory
In the new study, researchers found that for every one point increase in a woman's body mass index (BMI), her score on a standard memory test -- though still in the normal range -- dropped by one point. BMI is a measurement that takes into account height and weight.
The study, which was based on data from nearly 9,000 women who were enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative, a large government-sponsored study of postmenopausal women, was released online July 14 in advance of publication in the August print issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
"This study really underscores the importance of maintaining an ideal body weight," said lead researcher Dr. Diana Kerwin, assistant professor of medicine in the division of geriatrics at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. "Even if a woman feels that she's generally healthy because her blood pressure and cholesterol levels are good, what these findings suggest is that she also needs to pay attention to her weight, because it's not only good for her heart, it's also good for her brain."
