A craving for certain foods could be a sign of dementia, according to experts.
Dementia is the umbrella term for syndromes that cause memory loss, Alzheimer's disease the most common type of the condition, with vascular dementia is making up the majority of other cases.
However, there are other, more rare, forms of dementia with one know as frontotemporal dementia (FTD). This condition causes problems with behaviour and language as well as potentially altering a person's go-to food choices, Wales Online reports.
Leading charity Alzheimer's UK states that patients suffering with FTD may "crave sweet, fatty foods, or carbohydrates and forget their table manners" adding: "They may also no longer know when to stop eating, drinking alcohol, or smoking."
Statistically, dementia is the UK's biggest killer, with around 67,000 people across the four nations dying from the disease each year.
In order to race awareness and increase the rate at which science moves towards a breakthrough in tackling the illness, Scottish Formula One driver Sir Jackie Stewart to found Race Against Dementia following his wife's FTD diagnosis in 2014.
The charity is hopeful a new treatment for the disease within the next 10 years, says scientist Dr Cara Croft.
What are the symptoms of frontotemporal dementia (FTD)?
As well as changes in eating habits, other symptoms of FTD are:
- Being insensitive or rude
- Acting impulsively
- Loss of inhibitions
- Seeming subdued
- Losing interest in people and things
- Losing drive and motivation
- Inability to emphasis with others
- Repetitive behaviours
- Compulsive eating
- Neglecting personal hygiene
- Using words incorrectly
- Loss of vocabulary
- Repeating a limited number of phrases
- Forgetting the meaning of common words
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