article_snippet.sent: For years we have been told that the first step to staying healthy is to keep to a healthy weight - that means making sure your Body Mass Index (BMI) is within the normal range of 18 to 24.
article_snippet.sent: Few people are advised to gain weight, unless Few people BMI is below 18, but could that change?
article_snippet.sent: A study published last week suggests that overweight people are less likely to develop dementia.
article_snippet.sent: The researchers, drawn mostly from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, analysed the medical records of nearly two million people for up to ten years and found that those who were overweight (with a BMI of 25 to 29) had an 18 per cent lower risk of dementia compared to those with a healthy BMI.
article_snippet.sent: Remarkably the obese (with a BMI of 30 plus) did even better; Remarkably the obese (with a BMI of 30 plus) did even better were 24 per cent less likely to develop dementia.
article_snippet.sent: Being underweight increased the dementia risk by 39 per cent.