Is there a link between being overweight and forgetfulness?

BMI, a measure of weight in relation to height, is often used to determine whether a person is normal, underweight, or overweight. For individuals, BMI is not always an accurate measure of healthiness—but for large populations like this, it’s a good way to estimate averages. In general, a BMI of 18 to 25 is considered normal weight, and any number over 25 is considered overweight.

For the study, inflammation was measured by the presence of C-reactive protein (CRP)—a marker of systemic inflammation throughout the body—in the participants’ blood. Cognitive function, meanwhile, was measured with word recall and verbal fluency tests.

The researchers found a clear link between the three factors. “The higher participants’ body mass at the first time point in the study, the greater the change in their CRP levels over the next four years,” Bourassa said in a press release. That change in CRP then predicted a decline in brain functioning—including executive functioning and memory—two years later.