Health: Overweight people in their 20s and 30s TWICE as likely to have memory issues later in life

You may be twice as likely to develop late-life memory and cognitive issues if you are overweight or have high blood pressure or high glucose levels in your 20s/30s. They found that high BMI and blood pressure in early adulthood can double the rate of cognitive decline -- while high blood glucose levels increased in five-fold. The researchers cautioned, however, that they only established an association between these health issues and late-life cognitive problems, not a causal link. 'These results are striking and suggest that early adulthood may be a critical time for the relationship between these health issues and late-life cognitive skills,' said paper author and neurologist Kristine Yaffe of the University of California, San Francisco. 'It's possible that treating or modifying these health issues in early adulthood could prevent or reduce problems with thinking skills in later life.'