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Excess fat has been linked to many health conditions, even some that affect the brain.
In the latest Alzheimer’s researchfat deposits in certain areas of the body were shown to be the most common early warning sign of dementia – up to 20 years before symptoms appear.
The study results were presented this week at the annual Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting in Chicago.
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“Across body regions, high visceral or visceral fat is the most important predictor of whole-brain amyloid and early tau protein accumulation,” study lead author Mehsa Doulat Shahi, MD, postdoctoral research associate. At the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR). at Washington University School of Medicine, told Fox News Digital.
The researchers studied a variety of body tissues – including subcutaneous fat, liver fat and thigh fat – but visceral fat was “the most powerful predictor of obesity-related Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathologies”, Daulat Shahi noted.
“Other types of fat showed no association with AD pathologies.”
“Visual fat was the most powerful predictor of obesity-related Alzheimer’s disease.”
In the study, researchers examined 80 middle-aged adults (average age 49) who had no cognitive impairment, according to a press release.
Just over half were classified as obese. The average body mass index (BMI) was 32.31, with anything over 30 coming in. Type of obesity.
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The researchers assessed possible associations between Alzheimer’s disease symptoms and controllable lifestyle factors, including obesity, metabolic health and BMI.
Tests included brain scans, body MRIs, cholesterol panels, and measurements of blood glucose and insulin levels.
Insulin resistance and low HDL cholesterol were associated with high amyloid in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. (iStock)
In addition to just measuring BMI, the study used MRI technology to take a closer look at body fat and better determine its relationship to Alzheimer’s, the release said.
“We compared BMI, visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, liver fat fraction, thigh fat and muscle as well as insulin resistance and HDL (good cholesterol) to Alzheimer’s disease with amyloid and tau,” said Daulat Shahi. Investigated the gathering.”
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An additional finding was more than that. Insulin resistance And low HDL was associated with high amyloid in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s.
Beyond just measuring BMI, the study used MRI technology to take a closer look at body fat and better determine its relationship with Alzheimer’s. (iStock)
“An important implication of our work is that managing Alzheimer’s risk in obesity will require targeting related metabolic and lipid problems,” said senior study author Cyrus A. Raji, MD, PhD. Associate Professor of Radiology at MIR in Raleigh.
In a separate study also being presented this week, the same research team investigated how obesity and abdominal fat can affect blood flow to the brain.
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Researchers report that three out of four Americans are overweight or obese.
Meanwhile, about 6.9 million Americans, age 65 and older, have Alzheimer’s disease, a number predicted to reach 13 million by 2050.
“The good news is that these risk factors can be reduced with a Healthy lifestyle And regular exercise.”
Dr. Ernest Lee Murray, a Board Certified Neurologist at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tennessee, was not involved in the study but commented on the findings.
“We’ve known for some time the dangers of visceral fat on various organs of the body, possibly through its facilitation of inflammatory changes — and it’s no different in the brain,” he told Fox News Digital. told News Digital.
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What stuck out most to Murray was how early in life changes are noted in the brain.
“The good news is that these risk factors can be reduced with a Healthy lifestyle And regular exercise,” he said.
Popularity of GLP-1 drugs Diabetes and obesity “will certainly be studied” in this context, Murray added.
Experts say that making healthy lifestyle changes can help reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s later in life. (iStock)
“This study also shows the importance of doctors and insurance companies focusing on prevention and the long-term benefits of modifying risk factors at an early age, such as waiting for patients to develop symptoms.”
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The researchers acknowledged that the study had some limitations.
“The study has a cross-sectional design, which does not allow us to understand whether individuals with excess visceral fat and amyloid and tau pathologies will develop cognitive impairment and symptomatic AD,” Dulat Shahi told Fox News Digital.
“Also, the sample size for this study is limited to 80 people, and we need more studies using PET scans to understand the role of different body types in Alzheimer’s disease.”
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