Over six million people in the U.S. live with dementia. By 2050, that number is expected to double.

Yet, even so, the signs of cognitive decline can be difficult to spot.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, Majid Fotuhi, an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University, told Inc. It typically begins by attacking the brain’s memory center. As a result, short-term memory loss, repeating questions, and getting lost in familiar places tend to be the earliest signs of dementia.  

While about one in every three people over the age of 85 will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, it is not the only form of dementia.

Frontotemporal dementia, commonly referred to as FTD, attacks the frontal and temporal lobes first. These are the areas of the brain responsible for judgment, social behavior, and impulse control. With this type of disease, the memory is still fully intact, Fotuhi said.

However, unlike Alzheimer’s, one early hallmark of FTD is changes in eating behavior—especially sudden sweet cravings, overeating, and eating the same foods over and over. 

Fotuhi told Inc. that the changes worth paying attention to are less about what someone is eating and more so about how they are eating. Patterns and relationships shifting, like someone craving dessert when they never had a sweet tooth before or overeating without registering fullness, are some hallmarks of this behavior.

“What makes these signs meaningful is that they represent a break from a longstanding pattern, not a one-time craving or a phase,” Fotuhi said.

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