Centre spread damages brain
Friday May 21st, 2010
People who get middle-aged spread place their brains at risk, researchers warned yesterday.
A new analysis finds a strong link between abdominal fat and the development of Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
The study of more than 700 people used brain scans to link the state of the brain to fat levels.
Writing in the Annals of Neurology, researchers say this showed that "round" people, with fat around the middle, had reduced brain capacity.
Researcher Dr Sudha Seshadri, of Boston University, Massachusetts, USA, said: "Our findings, while preliminary, provide greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying the link between obesity and dementia.
"Further studies will add to our knowledge and offer important methods of prevention."
“Visceral Fat is Associated with Lower Brain Volume in Healthy Middle-Aged Adults.” Stéphanie Debette, Alexa Beiser, Udo Hoffmann, Charles DeCarli, Christopher J. O’Donnell, Joseph M. Massaro, Rhoda Au, Jayandra J. Himali, Philip A. Wolf, Caroline S. Fox, Sudha Seshadri . Annals of Neurology; Published Online Early: May 20, 2010 (DOI:10.1002/XXX).
Tags: Brain & Neurology | Diet & Food | Fitness | North America
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