This Eating Habit Can Be An Early Sign Of Dementia

Studies have shown that everything from brushing your teeth to climbing the stairs can reveal signs of early dementia. And now, it seems that how you eat your dinner could indicate whether or not you’ve got a condition called frontotemporal dementia. The uncommon subtype of dementia affects about one in every 20 dementia patients, Dementia UK says.They say it’s an “umbrella term for a group of dementias that mainly affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which are responsible for personality, behaviour, language and speech”.And unlike other forms of dementia, its early stages may not always be characterised by memory loss or impaired concentration.Instead, one of the symptoms of behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bv FTD) is “obsessive or repetitive behaviour” – and that can extend to food. How does dementia affect eating habits?“Frontotemporal dementia is associated with a wide variety of abnormal eating behaviours such as hyperphagia, fixations on one kind of food, even ingestion of inanimate objects,” a paper on the topic reads. Those with the condition may refuse to eat anything other than one food – for instance, the paper referenced a “banana lady”, who ate nothing but bananas and drank nothing but milk for months before her death. After an autopsy, it was found that she had frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Those with the condition may also eat non-food objects and steal food from other people’s plates.“These behaviours are problematic, of course, socially, but also with regard to patients’ health as they tend to gain weight,” said researcher Marilena Aiello, who was involved in a systemic review of FTD, “even if individual consequences are different”.However, “some people lose weight because they eat a narrow range of foods in an obsessive way,” the researcher added.Why does this happen? We’re not fully sure. “The origin of food anomalies in frontotemporal dementia is likely due to many factors,” said Aiello.“It may involve an alteration of the autonomic nervous system, characterised by an altered assessment of the body’s signals, such as hunger, satiety, and appetite. Damage to the hypothalamus can cause a loss of inhibitory signals, causing behaviours such as overeating,” the researcher said.On top of that, “there are probably sensory and cognitive factors that can complicate the picture... In patients who eat objects, for example, there is perhaps a semantic problem of recognising the object of and its function”.What are other signs of FTD?Of course, hyperfixating on foods and eating non-food objects aren’t specific to FTD. Allieo said these are “abnormalities that may be present, albeit with varied intensities, in healthy individuals with irregular eating habits”.Pica, the desire to eat non-food objects like clay, can happen in pregnancy, for instance; and people diagnosed with autism can sometimes hyperfixate on foods. The habit may signify FTD more strongly, however, if combined with other symptoms of the condition. These are, per the NHS: personality and behaviour changes – acting inappropriately or impulsively, appearing selfish or unsympathetic, neglecting personal hygiene, overeating, or loss of motivationlanguage problems – speaking slowly, struggling to make the right sounds when saying a word, getting words in the wrong order, or using words incorrectlyproblems with mental abilities – getting distracted easily, struggling with planning and organisationmemory problems – these only tend to occur later on, unlike more common forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s diseasephysical problems, such as slow or stiff movements, loss of bladder or bowel control (usually not until later on), muscle weakness or difficulty swallowing.If you suspect you or a loved one has dementia, it’s important to speak to a GP as soon as possible as the earlier the intervention, the better.Related...Bad Habits That Can Increase Your Risk Of Dementia This Could Be The Key To Identifying Dementia 15 Years Before DiagnosisCosy Daytime Habit Can Be A Symptom Of Dementia

Comments

Breaking news

Huffpost uk

Comments

Breaking news

This Eating Habit Can Be An Early Sign Of Dementia

I Just Learned What The Texture Of Boba Pearls Is Really Called, And Huh

I fear for my health – and my life – when energy bills rise

Around 20 casualties after gunman ‘dressed in black’ bursts into school mass in Minneapolis

Labour falls to new low with Reform pulling further ahead in latest voting poll

‘I sculpted the Queen’s face and she told me what worried her most at Buckingham Palace’

Saturday is the new Sunday for UK’s remaining paper boys and girls

Nigel Farage U-Turns On Reform UK Plan To Deport Women And Children

Asylum seeker, 38, ‘told girl, 14, she would be a good wife before sex assault’

Chat GPT’s ‘final messages’ to teenager before he took his own life

Schoolgirl, 13, who tried to kill teachers was fascinated with Hitler and weapons

Paul Gallagher, brother of Oasis’ Liam and Noel, makes first court appearance after rape charge

Germany launches drive to add military recruits without conscription for now

Thames Water agrees new £122m fine payment plan amid concerns over its future

Woman seeks compensation from South Korea over her forced adoption to France in 1984

Russian forces break into another region of Ukraine with peace efforts stuck

Brother of Liam and Noel Gallagher appears in court charged with rape

Forbes says GDP figures ‘encouraging’, despite slower growth than UK overall

‘Mounjaro is making my hair fall out – but it’s worth it to lose weight’

Botswana declares public health emergency over medical shortages as Trump aid cuts hit

What does Trump’s 50% tariff mean for India?

New winter fuel payment laws show who is eligible – and who will miss out

Unions seek broader foothold in the South as workers vote at an EV battery plant in Kentucky

Police seize jewels worth $30M in diamond smuggler raid at Istanbul’s historic Grand Bazaar

Brexit was never debated properly, minister says as he accuses Farage and Tories of offering only ‘snake oil’

US deportation flights hit record highs as carriers try to hide the planes, advocates say

Israel’s Gaza City invasion: What is Netanyahu’s plan and what happens next?

Lidl to create 500 jobs after £435 million investment in warehouses

Tourist could face prison after filming ‘disrespectful’ Instagram dance video under Turkish flag

Rail ticket price claims in Trainline ads were ‘misleading’ – watchdog

Doctor who posted image of himself performing brain surgery on dating website struck off

Trump says he will seek death penalty for murders in Washington DC

What is the global ‘sovereign citizen’ movement and why is it so strong in Australia?

What Is Frontotemporal Dementia, The Condition Bruce Willis Is Diagnosed With?

This Montage Of Donald Trump’s Cabinet Fawning Has To Be Seen To Be Believed

Paul Mescal And Jessie Buckley's New Hamnet Trailer Has Book Lovers On The Edge Of Their Seats

Trump Repeats His Favourite Kremlin Talking Point In Latest Anti-Ukraine Outburst

‘Warm-hearted’ man found strangled to death in his south-east London home

Why are there so many English flags everywhere all of a sudden?

Influencers ‘promoted job opportunities for women that led to Putin’s weapons factories’

Burning Man’s ‘Orgy Dome’ destroyed after haboob dust storm tears through it

Farage producing policies on the back of a fag packet, says Home Office minister

Trump’s walls threaten wildlife on the US-Mexico border. This frog could counter the trend

Gavin Newsom trolls Trump with Grok post suggesting he has dementia

Royal Mail rolls out ‘postboxes of the future’ across UK

Welsh Water hires former Sydney Water executive as new boss

A royal pardon frees a Thai woman serving a 43-year prison term for defaming the monarchy

Struggling salon owner says energy bills have risen by 83 per cent

Edmunds: Five big mistakes you need to avoid before buying your next new car

Denmark summons US envoy over Greenland interference claims

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack sparks outrage after telling journalists in Lebanon to ‘act civilized’

Frasers moves into mini-golf and trampolining with We Do Play investment

National Guard called in to deal with ‘crime emergency’ in DC are now picking up trash outside the White House

Nearly two-thirds of young adults fear AI will take their jobs

FEMA staff warn Trump officials’ actions risk a Katrina-level disaster

German jets reportedly scrambled to intercept Russian spy plane over the Baltic

Prisoner trapped on abolished indefinite jail term took his own life after government refused to resentence him

Hitler-obsessed teen who stabbed her teachers was considered for anti-terror programme before attack

Household energy bills to rise by 2% despite falling wholesale prices

Scots Tory MSP Graham Simpson defects to Nigel Farage's Reform UK