Abdominal fat increases dementia risk Tell the truth…is your middle not so little? If the unavoidable answer is "yes," then the time to turn back abdominal fat is now. As in: immediately. Because a new study shows that too much fat in the mid-region sharply increases dementia risk. As reported last month in the journal Neurology, researchers measured the abdomens of more than 6,500 subjects in their early 40s. When the subjects were measured again more than 30 years later, researchers found that subjects who had developed the greatest abdominal fat were almost THREE TIMES more likely to suffer from dementia compared to subjects with the lowest amount of abdominal fat. And it gets worse. Subjects with oversized abdomens who were otherwise healthy and within normal weight limits STILL had a very high risk of dementia. Doctors and researchers don't know why dementia risk might parallel abdominal fat development, but they do know something significant is going on here because excess abdominal fat has also been linked to higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke. This isn't news to HSI members. In the e-Alert "Middle Man" (9/11/06) I told you about a study that demonstrated a link between excess abdominal fat and heart attack risk. You can read more about this phenomenon - along with suggestions on how you might reduce your mid-section - at this link: http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ealerts/ea200609/ea20060911a.html Source:
"Larger Belly in Mid-Life Increases Risk of Dementia" American Academy of Neurology, Press Release, 3/26/08, eurekalert.org | 
