Being fat may save you from dementia, according to science

An obese man eats chips. — (Image credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Forget everything your doctor, nutritionist, trainer, and fat-shaming family member ever told you about the correlation between heart health and brain health. Packing on the pounds in middle age appears to cut the risk of developing dementia, rather than increase it, according to The Lancet scientific journal.

In a study of two million people, researchers found that compared with average weight people, underweight people had a 34 percent higher risk of developing dementia, while the very obese had a 29 percent lower risk of showing signs of the brain disease.

Many previous smaller-scope findings have suggested the reverse, but the sheer magnitude and extent of this new research gives it an unusual amount of, well, weight. Further research is needed and experts caution that obesity still carries its own health risks. But, hey, you might as well throw caution to the wind and ask for seconds or order dessert. Who knows how long we have before science returns to its natural Debby Downer state?

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Lauren Hansen produces The Weekâ€™s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.