Dementia and Weight Gain (Yes, Gain)

I spoke to a woman recently who lost her husband to frontotemporal dementia. She shared something with me that many people don’t recognize as related to dementia…weight GAIN.

Yes, gain. Weight loss is quite common as well, so when I talk about dementia and weight, I usually say dementia can be related to a change in weight.

Frontotemporal dementia is a type of dementia that impacts impulse control. When she mentioned that one of the first “odd” things she noticed was that he was eating more, I wasn’t surprised it was a sign of frontotemporal dementia. When she told told me how much weight he gained, I was surprised.

He gained over 100 pounds in 9 months. She said that the weight gain didn’t seem to bother him, although he was becoming more irritable overall. She tried to help…they went on Weight Watchers together, but it turned into a fight…