Remember
You may be one of those people who have a smaller appetite than you did when younger, but if you do continue to consume the same amount of food as you did in your 30s and 40s you could be at risk of cognitive impairment. A new study suggests that eating more than 2100 calories a day could double your risk of memory loss.
Researchers looked at data from 1,233 people aged 70 and over, none of whom had been diagnosed with dementia, although 163 had mild cognitive impairment. Study participants were asked to fill out a food questionnaire, providing details of calorie, food and liquid intake. They were then divided into three groups depending on how many calories they ingested on a daily basis: the first group ate between 600 and 1,526 calories a day; the second, from 1,526 to 2,143; and the last group between 2143 and 6000. For those in the high-calorie group, the risk of mild cognitive impairment was double compared to that of the low-calorie group. Even when the researchers factored in medical history (stroke, diabetes) as well as education level, the difference remained.
“As you age you don’t need the high number of calories you did when you were younger,” says registered nutritionist Dr Carina Norris, author of The Food Manual (Haynes). “The reason is that your body changes – you have more body fat and less lean muscle, which means your body doesn’t burn fuel as quickly. Your metabolism has slowed down.” That said, your calorie intake does depend on your lifestyle too. “Obviously a person who plays tennis regularly will need more daily calories than someone who spends their day sitting on the sofa,” says Norris. “But generally speaking, if you’re averagely active and doing exercise three times a week, you’ll need around 1,900 calories a day from the age of 60 if you’re a woman, and 2,380 calories a day if you’re a man.”