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.
Alison Judge isn't a fashionista. Nor is she obese. But she admits that she is getting a little tired of wearing sweats, the only type of pants that doesn't show off what she affectionately calls her "middle-age muffin" and what the rest of us call the jelly belly. "Things just started moving south after 40," says Judge, 47, a marketing consultant from Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y. "Any extra weight goes right to my gut. I know it's not healthy, but it's tough to fight Mother Nature."
Indeed it is. But here's another reason to wage that battle. A growing body of evidence is implicating obesity as a major risk factor for a seemingly endless roster of diseases: certain cancers, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, diabetes and gallbladder problems—even Alzheimer's disease.
When it comes to obesity and the brain, where you carry your weight may be a bigger risk factor for cognitive decline than how many extra pounds you're packing. And that's frightening news for people in middle age, a time when six-pack abs quickly morph into abdominal flab.
A new study published online today in the journal Neurology shows that belly fat in middle age—even among folks who are at a normal weight, like Judge—may put you at increased risk for dementia. It's a finding that even astounded the researchers. "We know that obesity is somehow linked to Alzheimer's," says study author Rachel Whitmer, a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif. "But no one was more surprised than me at just how big an effect belly fat seems to have."
The observational study followed some 6,500 people, ages 40 to 45, for more than three decades, starting in the mid-1970s. All participants were given a sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) measurement, a simple procedure in which a technician uses calipers to measure the distance from the back to the upper abdomen, midway between the upper pelvis and bottom of the ribs. At the end of the study about 1,000 participants, or 16 percent, were diagnosed with dementia. After factoring out known dementia risk factors such as diabetes, stroke, hypertension and high cholesterol, data analysis showed that potbellies were a bigger risk for cognitive impairment than obesity alone.
And the fatter the gut, the higher the risk. Researchers used standard body mass index (BMI) measurements (weight divided by height in meters squared) to classify folks as normal weight, overweight or obese. Participants who were overweight and had a bulging gut were 2.3 times as likely to develop dementia as people with normal weight and belly size. Obese participants with large guts were 3.6 times as likely to develop dementia.
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Member Comments
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.