Abstract

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

Chongming Yang, Hui Hu, Ling Wang, Yating Ai, Hairong Ren, Xinxiu Dong, Fen Yang and Yuncui Wang

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.