Studies show that men can lose their memory a decade before women if they are obese.

Millions of people worldwide are affected by dementia, which gradually robs them of their memory and independence, with people over 75 more likely to be affected.

But a team at Imperial College London has discovered that obesity can cause men in particular to develop the memory disorder years earlier.

Researchers examined 34,000 adults aged 45 to 82 with obesity, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes – all risk factors for dementia – in the UK Biobank.

They found that overweight men’s brain volume and function began to decline between ages 55 and 74, while overweight women were most vulnerable between ages 65 and 74 – a decade later than men.

Adults with heart disease or obesity are more likely to develop dementia. Researchers say this is because it can trigger inflammation and poor blood supply to the brain, leading to cognitive decline.

The new study, published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, is the first to show how poor cardiovascular health affects the brains of different genders at different ages.

In the study, researchers used scans to record the volume and weight of participants’ brains and also measured the volume of their abdominal fat.

These scans allowed researchers to estimate the influence of cardiovascular risk and fat on brain neurodegeneration – the progressive loss of neurons in the brain that can cause dementia.

Researchers found that overweight men’s brain volume and function began to decline between ages 55 and 74, while overweight women were most vulnerable between ages 65 and 74 – a decade later

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. The disease can cause anxiety, confusion and short-term memory loss

Researchers found that higher levels of abdominal fat are associated with lower brain volume, which corresponds to a loss of brain cells and connections between cells.

This is significant because research shows that people with dementia have smaller brain volume.

However, this relationship of belly fat to smaller brain volume was stronger in men than in women.

Professor Paul Edison, from the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College, who led the study, urged doctors to intervene early to prevent dementia and target cardiovascular risk and obesity in men decades earlier.

Researchers suggested that weight-loss vaccines such as Ozempic and Mounjaro could be “repurposed” to treat Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia.

It is estimated that there are currently 982,000 people with dementia in the UK. This number is expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040.

An estimated 6.7 million Americans ages 65 and older are now living with Alzheimer’s dementia. This number could rise to 13.8 million by 2060.

However, according to the NHS, around 40 percent of dementia cases are considered preventable.

Experts say lifestyle changes such as losing weight, exercising more or quitting smoking could stave off the condition.