Link between belly fat and the risk of developing dementia

Recent research has shown a link between having a large sagittal abdominal diameter in midlife and an increased risk of developing dementia.

New research from the US and Sweden has shown that having a large belly in midlife increased the risk of having dementia in old age. The research also revealed that overweight and obese people with large bellies have double or triple the risk.

The study, published in the online issue of the journal Neurology, is the first study to show a link between belly fat in midlife and the risk of developing dementia decades later. By examing medical records between 1994 and 2006, the researchers established that 16 per cent (1,049) of the study’s participants had dementia an average of 36years later.

Using statistical techniques and adjusting for age, sex, race, education, blood pressure, stroke, and other medical and demographic variables, they examined the links between midlife sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) and dementia incidence.

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