Belly Fat Linked to Dementia at He's Fit

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Belly Fat Linked to Dementia

Posted April 1, 2008 at 04:00 PM by Denise Musumeci

Section: In The News, His Health, Mental Health, Physical Health, Lifestyle Health, His Nutrition, Healthy Eating

Recently, the Wall Street Journal wrote an article about a study that shows a correlation between excess belly fat in middle age and dementia in old age. The study was published in the journal Neurology and highlights that it is not just the overall body weight that affects health, but how the weight is distributed in the body. The excess body fat that lies in the abdominal region of the body surrounds major organs are not only a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes, but also linked to cognitive malfunction at old age.

The researchers used medical records of 6, 583 middle-aged people between 1964 and 1973 and checked for signs of dementia after an average of 36 years. It has shown that people who are overweight are twice as likely to develop dementia, but in people who have excess belly fat raise the risk up to 3.6 times. This study did not calculate risk according to genetic predisposition to dementia.

The link between dementia and body fat is unknown. Jean-Pierre Despres, director of research at the Quebec Heart Institute at Laval University in Quebec City, who wasn’t involved in the study, thinks that excess fat causes inflammation, which in turn restricts blood flow to the spine and possibly the brain.

Unfortunately, researchers were unable to determine whether or not losing weight during the 30-year study will reduce the risk of dementia.

Regardless, losing weight will improve your health in other areas also, so there is no harm in dropping a few pounds. Losing belly fat is relatively easier to lose than fat in other places of the body, since it is not as stubborn.

The best thing to do while you’re still young is to take care of your body now to prevent declining health later. If you are middle-aged and have excess body fat, it couldn’t help to lose it, even if your risk is not lowered. Exercise is a way to increase blood flow to other areas of the body, including the brain, so it may be possible to reduce the risk of dementia by working out.

Research sources and for more information: [Wall Street Journal]; [picture]