Contact Us Customer Service: 1-844-937-7374
It’s well known that obesity is associated with various health problems, such as an increased risk of diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and certain types of cancer. Now, a new study has also found that people with a higher body mass index (BMI) are more likely to develop dementia than those with a normal body weight.
The study analyzed data from 1.3 million adults living in the United States and Europe and discovered two key findings: one, higher levels of body fat, which blocks blood flow to the brain and increases the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, were associated with an increased risk of dementia later in life; and two, being underweight later in life was associated with the impending onset of dementia.
This new information concludes that the association between BMI and dementia is likely to be attributed to two different processes: a harmful effect of higher BMI, which is observable in long follow-up, and a reserve-causation effect that makes a higher BMI appear productive when the follow-up is short. It is hypothesized that a lower BMI close to dementia onset might be a consequence of preclinical disease rather than a cause of dementia.
The good news regarding this study is that more controllable risk factors are being discovered for dementia. Research shows that each five-point increase in BMI can increase the risk of dementia by 16-33 percent. The study also suggests that maintaining a healthy weight could prevent or at least delay the onset of this debilitating condition.
These statistics add to the list of reasons why physicians and patients should discuss options to reach and maintain a healthy weight. When discussing weight loss options with your patients, the ReShape® weight loss balloon may be the perfect option for your mild to moderately obese patients. The ReShape balloon is specifically indicated for patients with a BMI of 30-40, which means you’ll be able to attract a patient population that is significantly larger in number than the morbidly obese population that has been the primary base for weight loss surgery. You’ll also appeal to those who have considered weight loss surgery but did not go through with it because of the invasive, high-risk procedures associated with gastric banding, gastric sleeves, and gastric bypass.
Unlike weight loss surgeries, ReShape is not a permanent implant and does not permanently reroute a patient’s digestive system. With the ReShape Procedure, your patients will receive a dual weight loss balloon that has a higher filling capacity than any single gastric balloon, one year of comprehensive coaching, a wireless scale, and access to the ReShape Patient Portal that allows your patient to track his or her food intake, weight, and exercise data.
For more information on the ReShape intragastric balloon and how you can grow your practice by attracting more weight loss patients with the complete ReShape weight loss program, click here.
