Eat fish to delay dementia

Eating fish once a week slows the ageing effect on the brain, while obesity at midlife doubles the risk of dementia. Omega-3 fatty acids present in fish have been shown to boost brain functioning as well as cut the risk of stroke. Eating fish regularly appears to protect the brain as people age. Researchers from the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago found that the rate of mental decline was reduced by 10 percent to 13 percent per year among people who consumed one or more meals containing fish per week as compared to those with less than weekly consumption. The rate reduction is the equivalent of being three to four years younger in age. The protective effect from eating fish was evident even after researchers adjusted for consumption of fruits and vegetables. Alzheimer's disease and other causes of dementia are growing problems around the world, particularly in developed countries with ageing populations. In another study, researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm concluded that obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol levels at midlife each doubled the risk of dementia later in life. Subjects who suffered from all three of the health problems at midlife multiplied their risk of developing dementia by six times as compared with people free of the risk factors. Nearly 1,500 subjects who have been part of a study that began in 1972 were reexamined. The 16 percent who were obese at midlife had twice the risk of dementia compared with 25 percent of those with normal weight at midlife and 50 percent who had been slightly overweight. Midlife obesity, high systolic blood pressure, and high total cholesterol were all significant risk factors for dementia, each of them increasing the risk around two times.