Pear Shaped Women

[CCArchive]

A study shows that women who are wide at the hips are more likely to experience mental decline late in life. Scientists studied 8,745 women aged 65 to 79 who were given scores out of 100 after taking a mental test. Although all the women were classified as "cognitively normal", the results revealed differences linked to weight and body shape. Test scores dropped by a point for every one-point increase in body mass index (BMI), a standard measurement based on weight and height. Being overweight was generally associated with reduced memory and brain function. But overweight pear-shaped women were more affected than "apples" with thick waists. The American researchers suspect this is because of the type of fat deposited around the hips. The findings are published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society.