Belly Fat in Mid-Life Linked to Dementia in Later Life

Summary: A study published by the American Academy of Neurology links abdominal fat in mid-life with dementia in later life. The study found that people in their early forties who had a high level abdominal fat were nearly three times more likely to develop dementia in the following 35 years than those with the lowest amount of abdominal fat.

Comment: Although this is the first time researchers have demonstrated that belly fat increases the risk of dementia, the results do not mean that abdominal fat causes dementia. Rather, the two are linked by a complex set of health-related behaviors, suggesting that the risk of developing such diseases as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease might be reduced by controlling how and how much fat is stored in the body.

Read article - American Academy of Neurology. March 26, 2008.