Dementia danger is linked to bigger bellies

Published 10:24 pm Wednesday, March 26, 2008

WASHINGTON — People who have large bellies in their 40s are much more likely to get Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in their 70s, according to new research that connects middle-age spread to fading minds for the first time.

The study of more than 6,000 people found the more fat they had in their gut in their early to mid-40s the greater their chances of becoming forgetful or confused, or showing other signs of senility as they aged. Those who had the most impressive midsections faced more than twice the risk of the leanest.

Surprisingly, a sizable stomach seems to increase the risk even among those who are not obese, or even overweight, the researchers reported in a paper published online Wednesday by the journal Neurology.

“A large belly independent of total weight is a potent predictor of dementia,” said Rachel Whitmer, a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif., who led the new study.

The findings are alarming in light of America’s growing girth, Whitmer and other experts said.

“If these findings are replicated and better understood, it looks like an unhealthy brain could be another consequence of this epidemic of obesity,” Lenore Launer of the National Institute on Aging said.

The research is the latest evidence that fat in the abdomen is the most dangerous kind. Previous studies have linked the apple-shaped physique to a greater risk of diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. Researchers suspect that those fat cells are the worst because of their proximity to major organs. They ooze noxious chemicals, stoking inflammation, constricting blood vessels and triggering other processes that might also damage brain cells.

“There is a lot of work out there that suggests that the fat wrapped around your inner organs is much more metabolically active than other types of fat right under the skin,” Whitmer said. “It’s pumping out toxic substances. It’s very potent toxic fat.”

While acknowledging that more research was needed, Whitmer said the findings provide one more reason to try to maintain a healthy weight, noting that this type of fat is the most easily shed by dieting and exercise.

“It’s not as stubborn as the fat under the skin,” she said. “It’s a modifiable risk factor.”