Obesity affects memory

[Guest guest]

Article published Jan 3, 2006

Are you losing it?

Midlife forgetfulness might just be a part of aging

Single mom Dee Dee Ford's brain circuitry is overloaded with

details, from voicemail, computer and bank account passwords to

where she stowed her ATM card, eyeglasses and car keys.

Though friends marvel at the 48-year-old woman's recall of details

from decades past, her short-term memory often lapses as she juggles

a commute to work in Sonoma, Calif., her daughter's school and

sporting events, and her own volunteer and social demands.

``I find myself just more scattered and forgetting things,'' said

Ford, whose boyfriend has outfitted her with beaded eyeglass chains.

``I look ridiculous, but at least I know where my glasses are,'' she

laughed. ``I don't have to tear my car apart.''

Ford falls into that 45- to 60-year-old range when, according to

researchers, adults' busyness peaks — about 20 years after their

memory has begun to slip.

``The combination of aging and being extremely busy is a double

whammy,'' said Park, a University of Illinois psychologist

who co-directs its Roybal Center for Healthy Minds. ``We have a lot

of data that shows middle-aged adults are less likely to take their

medications correctly than older adults. Busy people, people who

multitask, forget a lot of things.''

As baby boomers approach their 60s, when the risk of dementia begins

to increase with each decade, the question, ``Is my memory loss

normal?'' pops up everywhere — from mental health clinics to

magazine covers.

Forgetting a name, movie title, grocery list item or freeway exit

plagues many people in midlife and beyond, mental health experts

agreed, as the brain's ability to retrieve information naturally

slows. But unless memory failures interfere with caring for yourself

and others, running a household, maintaining a job and driving a

car, you likely are among those neurologist Allan Bernstein calls

the ``worried well.''

Bernstein, a neurologist in Santa , Calif., compares age-related

loss of brain cells and cognitive function to a computer that locks

up.

``The hard drive just takes a little longer to reboot,'' he said.

``We haven't lost it; there's just a little delay in retrieving it.''

Speed of processing information and the ability to avoid

distractions also begin to decline by our late 20s, said National

Institute on Aging researcher Elias. So ``we are all more

prone to interference,'' and the word-association tricks once used

to recall grocery lists or to-do's won't come to mind so

spontaneously.

``By the 40s, the multitasking you used to love on your job when you

were in your 20s and 30s is just getting to be a little too much,''

Elias said.

By our late 50s or 60s, brain atrophy or shrinkage can be detected

on a brain scan, said Dr. Small, a psychiatrist at University

of California Los Angeles. ``And when cells shrink, " he said, " they

don't function as well.''

But without a loss of executive function — the skills to sequence,

organize, plan and monitor your own behavior — failing memory would

not signal dementia, Small and other experts agreed.

``Normal is being able to carry on your daily activities without

impairment,'' said Bernstein.

At the University of Illinois, Park led a study of 350 adults,

ranging in age from their 20s to 90s, tracking their memory losses

across the lifespan. ``The changes are subtle and small: They accrue

over a period of many years,'' Park noted.

To distinguish between normal aging and Alzheimer's disease or other

dementias, health professionals rely on family histories, brain

scans, medical exams, lab work, cognitive testing and a comparison

of current functioning versus prior functioning.

SLOWING THE DECLINE

Advancing age and a genetic risk of dementia are irreversible. But

many conditions that may impair the memory can be reversed or

treated, including:

High-fat diets lacking fruits, vegetables, whole grains, adequate

protein and other nutrients.

Vitamin deficiencies, including inadequate B12: One fifth of people

60 and older, and 40 percent of those over 80, lose some ability to

absorb vitamin B12, Small noted in his book ``The Memory

Prescription.''

Stress, anxiety and depression: ``The 40-year-old who thinks they

have Alzheimer's is unlikely to have Alzheimer's, but they're very

likely to have depression,'' Bernstein said. ``The symptoms mimic

each other.''

Physical inactivity: Psychologist Arthur Kramer, Park's co-director

at the Center for Healthy Minds in Illinois, tested the impact of

walking 45 minutes three times weekly in sedentary older adults.

Kramer documented improvements in the walkers in memory, attention

and their ability to multitask after six months on the aerobic

regimen.

Aerobic fitness ``increases the number of connections between

neurons and increases blood supply'' to the brain, Kramer said.

``Some data suggests that new neurons can even be born in middle-

aged and older brains, and exercise is one way to do that.''

MEMORY `BOOT CAMP'

At UCLA, Small promotes a 14-day memory ``boot camp,'' combining

mental stimulation, physical conditioning, a healthful diet and

stress reduction. Michele Rubin, a 47-year-old former pharmacist

from Beverly Hills, adopted the two-week regimen and improved one

memory test score to the average typical of a 25-year-old, Small

said.

Concerned about slowing recall and forgetfulness about things her

family members had told her, the mother of three embraced Small's

recommendations.

She began eating foods rich in antioxidants and fish containing

omega-3 fatty acids, started a cardiovascular workout at her gym,

afforded herself the luxury of nonfiction reading and jumped back

into mentally taxing pursuits she'd avoided in her busy life, such

as helping her kids with science and math homework.

``Just defining what normal, age-related memory loss is was really

helpful for me,'' Rubin recalled, ``so I didn't feel like, `Oh, my

God, I'm having early signs (of dementia).' Everybody has these

symptoms.''

At the University of Illinois, Park has tested how learning new

skills — quilting and digital photography — influenced the cognitive

function of volunteers aged 65 to 80 who previously were relatively

inactive or stayed at home.

For eight to 10 weeks, the volunteers engaged in 15 hours each week

of either the photography or quilting, and Park said the results

from small, pilot studies showed promise. ``It would suggest that

staying engaged across the lifetime might genuinely improve your

cognition,'' she said.

Park plans a much larger trial to test the effects of such stimuli.

``We know what to do to have a healthy heart,'' she said, ``and

we're starting to learn what to do to have a healthy mind.''

(Katy Hillenmeyer writes for The Press Democrat in Santa ,

Calif.)

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