As the size of a person’s belly grows, the memory center of their brain shrinks and beta amyloid and tau may appear, according to new research. This occurs as early as a person’s 40s and 50s, well before any cognitive decline is apparent.
Both beta amyloid plaques and tau tangles are early signs of the brain’s march toward a possible Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis. Amyloid plaques typically appear first, with tau tangles arriving later as the disease progresses.
The study found that the more amyloid or tau present in the brain, the sicker the brain becomes. Lower blood flow in the memory center of the brain may cause shrinkage, another key biomarker for Alzheimer’s.
Obesity is a worldwide epidemic, and the study suggests that it may be a risk factor for dementia. The researchers found that visceral fat, a type of deep abdominal fat, was linked to inflammation and amyloid buildup in the brains of study participants.
Visceral fat wraps itself around the major organs of the body and is different from subcutaneous fat, which typically makes up 90% of the body’s fat. The study used gold-standard amyloid positron emission tomography, or PET, scans to verify the presence of amyloid and tau in the brains of study participants, and magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, to measure levels of visceral fat.
The study found that the more visceral fat one has, the more inflammation happens in the body. Visceral fat receives more blood flow due to its placement near organs and is more hormonally active than subcutaneous fat.
The researchers also found a relationship between deep belly fat and brain atrophy, or a wasting away of gray matter, in a part of the brain’s memory center called the hippocampus. Brain atrophy is another biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease.
The study has continued, adding an additional 48 participants to make a total of 80. The average age of those in the study was 49, and the average BMI was 32. A BMI of over 30 is considered obese by the medical establishment.
The researchers suggest that reducing belly fat can be one of the most powerful tools to fight Alzheimer’s disease. They recommend focusing on body composition, exercising smarter, not harder, and building muscle mass to burn fat more efficiently.
