Study Links Overeating to Doubled Risk of Memory Loss

A new study suggests that a calorie intake between 2,100 and 6,000 calories per day may more than double the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the stage before early Alzheimer’s disease, for people aged 70 and older.

The study involved over 1,200 participants aged 70 to 89 who were free from dementia. They reported their daily calorie intakes through a food questionnaire and were divided into three groups based on their daily calorie intake.

The results shows that, compared with participants who consumed 600 to 1,526 calories per day, the chances for those who consumed 2,142 to 6,000 calories per day to get MCI more than doubled.

“Cutting calories and eating foods that make up a healthy diet may be a simpler way to prevent memory loss as we age,” study author Yonas Geda of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona said in a press release.

The study will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.