Having a fat belly in the middle age, which is already associated with an increased risk of diabetes, heart problems and stroke, also increases the risk of obtaining dementia in its last years, according to with a new study.
"This is the first research that linked the central obesity in middle age with dementia later in life," says Rachel Whitmer, PhD, research scientist at the Permanent Kaiser Research Division in Oakland, California, who led the study. Central obesity is the term used for excess abdominal body fat.
"where you load your weight is an important risk factor," says WebMD. "If you are overweight and take you in your belly, you are at greater risk [health problems] than someone overweight that does not take you in your belly."
Diet Tips For Belly Fat Loss - Belly Fat in Midlife, Dementia Later?
Whitmer and his colleagues followed the medical records of 6,583 members of the Permanent Kaiser of Northern California, a large health maintenance organization , for an average of 36 years, from the moment they were in their 40s until they were in the 1970s.
They analyzed records of medical visiting exams between 1964 and 1973, when members were in mid-age (40-45 years), and then again from 1994 to 2006. In the examinations, Kaiser members provided information on the Lifestyle, height and weight and had the diameters of their bellies measured.
Whitmer's team shared participants into five groups - from those with the smallest amount of belly fat for those with more.
The measurement taken, called a sagittal abdominal diameter, measures the belly from the front back, it says, and is not easily translated into waist size. A sagittal abdominal diameter of 25 centimeters or more is considered high and reflects excess fat. They did not collect waist circumference measurements.
Throughout the study, 1,049 participants were diagnosed with dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.
The greater the belly, the greater the risk of dementia, they discovered.
"We found that people who were at the top 20% of the size of the belly had a risk 2.72 times higher than dementia, compared to people in the 20% background," says Whitmer.
Not everyone with overweight has a big belly, and some normal weight people carry excess fat from belly. Thus, the researchers analyzed the effects of weight and fat of the belly.
The worst scenario was being obese with a lot of belly fat. "If you are obese with a big belly, the risk of dementia is 3.6 times [the risk of those with normal weight and low belly fat," says Whitmer.
normal weight people, but with excess belly fat had a risk 1.89 times greater than obtain dementia than normal weight and without excess of belly fat.
The study is published online in neurology.
How to tell if your belly fat is a health risk? Men who have a waist circumference over 40 inches and women with a waist circumference with more than 35 inches are at higher risk, says Whitmer, citing national institutes of health guidelines.
While the study Whitmer has not looked at the belly fat increases the risk of dementia, it can speculate. "We are hypothesizing that the mechanism should have something to do with some of the substances that the fat belly fat," she says, "and those can have an effect on the brain."
"is another information that middle-aged cardiovascular risk factors are not just bad for your heart, they are bad for your brain," says David Bennett, MD, director of the Center for Disease From Rush Alzheimer at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
Where you load your weight is a bit genetically determined, says Whitmer. Some people are "Apple" in shape, carrying excess fat from the belly, while others are more "pear" in shape, carrying excess weight on their hips and thighs.
"If you are in the form of Apple and carry fat your medium," she says, "Be really aware that you are at greater risk. A message is, if you can not lose weight, lose weight. The belly. "
