A Big Belly in Middle-Age Raises the Risk of Dementia

In 2008 Kaiser Permanente researchers published results of a study showing the role of ‘central’ obesity as a risk factor for dementia and death over the subsequent 30 years.  Now there’s a complementary study, this time from Boston University, and published in the Annals of Neurology.  It shows that brain volume is reduced in people with much intra-abdominal fat.

There were 733 participants in this study from the Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort.  Their average age was 60; 53% of them were women. Body measurements taken included:  body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and subcutaneous and intra-abdominal fat using computerized tomography (CT).  The total brain volume was measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as well as the temporal lobe volume, white matter volume, brain infarcts (previous stroke areas).

There was a significant relationship between all the body measurements and the total brain volume – the higher the body size measurements, the lower the brain volume.  The link between intra-abdominal fat and brain volume was the strongest, however, being independent of BMI. 

This finding is important, as total brain volume was clearly linked to dementia in a Brigham Young University study published in 2001.  It’s clearly another good reason to practice weight control, or lose excess weight if you’ve already accumulated a large tummy.