obesity in middle age linked with dementia being obese in middle age increases the likelihood of dementia later in life, according to a new study that followed people from their forties through to old age. the finding highlights a coming crisis: the western obesity epidemic will seriously compound the effects of an ageing population, which on its own is expected to increase the incidence of dementia by 400% in the next 20 years. study by rachel whitmer, an epidemiologist with the healthcare organisation kaiser permanente in oakland, california, US. read more on new scientist

 

image: duane hanson supermarket shopper, 1970