Body Mass Index Is Related to Cognitive Function in Chinese Older Adults: So What?

Chongming Yang *,Hui Hu ,Li

Abstract

The relation between Body Mass Index (BMI) and cognitive function in the elderly was found conflictory in studies of western samples and under-explored in mainland China. This study explored the relation with a sample of 447 older adults from Wuhan, central China. Cognitive function was measured with the Chinese version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). A mixture modeling revealed that BMI was negatively related to cognitive function only in a small proportion of the sample, who averaged highest in age but lowest in education and BMI. Practical implication of this finding was discussed.

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