HEALTH

Big Belly, Bad Memory

Why that spare tire puts you at greater risk of dementia (along with a host of other diseases), and what you can do about it.

By Joan Raymond | Newsweek Web Exclusive

Mar 26, 2008 | Updated: 3:50 p.m. ET Mar 26, 2008

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Discuss

Posted By: Blueside @ 04/06/2008 9:10:31 PM

Comment: With regards to "Be-Real" comments made, i can say only one thing. Wait until you have some disease or illness that takes ahold of your life and leaves you helpless in many ways. I would like to see your opinion then when your the one fighting for your life. I have seen many healthy people in top shape fall victim to disease and illness. The human body is such a complex machine and all it takes is one little glitch to have problems occur. Not to mention the fact that we each have stresses in life which have different effects on all of us. If find your comments completely uneducated. Its mindsets like yours that prevent the human race from working as a team where everyone can have a better life!! At the end of the day, isn't that what we all want???
Posted By: Be- Real @ 03/28/2008 10:48:46 AM

Comment: If people with a high body mass index pose a strain to the national health care budget shouldn't they be rightfully pay more taxes. Isn't it unfair for those healthy individuals to be bearing the burden of contributing some of their hard earned money to subsidise the reckless happy eaters in our society
Posted By: Be- Real @ 03/28/2008 10:37:27 AM

Comment: Abdominal girth is a very reliable indicator of a multitude of ailments that plague the Western diet and couch potatoe lifestyle. It leads to the derranged glucose metabolism, hypertension and high cholesterol.

This constellation of disease states reflects a syndrome known as metabolic syndrome or Syndrome X to be precise, The high cholesterol cases narrowing of blood vessls throughout the body and causes what is known as peripheral vascular disease. The result a progressive narrowing of the vessls that perfuse all organs leading to cardiac, kidney, and gangrene of the limbs. The brain is not spared as the narrowed arteries compounded by the high blood pressure lead to intermittent loss of brain circulation. This causes a stepwise ratchet like decline of brain function often referred to as multi infarct dementia.

Now this link with Alzheimers make this link to dementia an even more compelling problem. Losing ones nuts is often referred to as the worst medical condition as most patients prefer to have a chronic ailment that protects their brain function that enables them to engage in the daily activities like making conversation reading and doing daily chores .

Having said that this whole problem of Obesity and its associated conditions should be tackled with more vigour than any other medical condition.
Posted By: DantheMan @ 03/28/2008 10:26:47 AM

Comment: I wonder...pot bellys increase the risk of Alzheimers, but could it be that a generally poor diet / life style, e.g. a six-pack a day, is the underlying cause of the increased risk? The pot belly is just an added bonus?
Posted By: kellytrek @ 03/27/2008 2:52:28 AM

Comment: In order to have a waist-to-hip ratio of less than the published ???healthy??? ratio of 0.8, a woman with a 35 inch waist measurement would have to have at least a 43.75 inch hip measurement. Can anyone tell me what that standard dress size would be?

What percentage of the world-wide female population over 35 years of age has a waist measurement greater than 35 inches?
If that percentage is greater than 50%, then does this world-wide population of females possess a ???normal??? body shape for women in their age range?
And if that???s normal for women over 35 years old, then is it nevertheless sick?

It???s off-topic but ironic that there seems to be a kind of reverse rationalization expressed by some people in the sex research field. They say that even though a large percentage of women express dissatisfaction with their personal sexual response (FSD, female sexual disorder), treatment for such dissatisfaction shouldn???t be ???medicalized??? by the development of drug treatments because it???s ???normal??? for so many women not to be satisfied with their sexual response...it???s a natural part of being a woman! lol
Posted By: kellytrek @ 03/27/2008 2:49:31 AM

Comment: In order to have a waist-to-hip ratio of less than the published ???healthy??? ratio of 0.8, a woman with a 35 inch waist measurement would have to have at least a 43.75 inch hip measurement. Can anyone tell me what that standard dress size would be?

What percentage of the world-wide female population over 35 years of age has a waist measurement greater than 35 inches?
If that percentage is greater than 50%, then does this world-wide population of females possess a ???normal??? body shape for women in their age range?
And if that???s normal for women over 35 years old, then is it nevertheless sick?

It???s off-topic but ironic that there seems to be a kind of reverse rationalization expressed by some people in the sex research field. They say that even though a large percentage of women express dissatisfaction with their personal sexual response (FSD, female sexual disorder), treatment for such dissatisfaction shouldn???t be ???medicalized??? by the development of drug treatments because it???s ???normal??? for so many women not to be satisfied with their sexual response...it???s a natural part of being a woman! lol
Posted By: eprn17 @ 03/26/2008 10:49:11 PM

Comment: You can do something about the weight? So why was I on my usual starvation diet at age 50, and gaining weight? Please stop with the articles that warn about the dangers of obesity. I reached an age where even dieting wasn't going to keep me from gaining weight. What am I supposed to do? After 30 years of dieting to be as thin as the culture wants me to be, can I get a break please? Also, why is it, fat as I am, that I don't get colds like my skinny sisters do? I think that fat is good for something, and the only reason we don't hear about it is that the nutrionisits' agenda does not include talking honestly about the effects of being overweight.
Posted By: skinnyminny2 @ 03/26/2008 6:03:34 PM

Comment: 'Mother nature' CAN be fought. It's called hard work. If you don't like your belly and are struggling to get rid of it, push harder and eat better or stop complaining and live with it. Most people are wimps anyway and balk at the idea of hard workouts.