Big bellies and Dementia? Metal in muscle tissue, body fat and brain

[Guest guest]

> for me overweight is the problem, been steadily gaining the last 20

> yrs no matter what I do. Marcia

Where are you gaining weight? Is it uniformly distributed on your

arms and legs as well as your middle or, do you tend be getting a

fatter and fatter " tummy " ?

And is it all fat or is it inflammation?

You might want to check out this article in the Washington Post: " Big

Bellies Lead to Dementia " .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-

dyn/content/article/2008/03/26/AR2008032602253.html

And we all know there's a whole different story going on behind this

one now don't we? :-)

~robin

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By Rob Stein

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, March 27, 2008; Page A02

People who have big bellies in their 40s are much more likely to get

Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia in their 70s, according to

new research that links the middle-aged spread to a fading mind for

the first time.

The study of more than 6,000 people found that the more fat they had

in their guts in their early to mid-40s, the greater their chances of

becoming forgetful and confused and showing other signs of senility

as they aged. Those who had the most expansive midsections faced more

than twice the risk of the leanest.

Surprisingly, a sizable stomach seems to increase the risk even among

those who are not obese or even overweight, the researchers reported

in a paper published online yesterday by the journal Neurology.

" A large belly, independent of total weight, is a potent predictor of

dementia, " said A. Whitmer, a research scientist at the Kaiser

Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif., who led the new

study.

The findings are alarming in light of America's growing girth,

Whitmer and other experts said.

" If these findings are replicated and better understood, it looks

like an unhealthy brain could be another consequence of this epidemic

of obesity, " said Lenore Launer of the National Institute on Aging.

The research is the latest evidence that fat in the abdomen is the

most dangerous kind. Previous studies have linked an apple-shaped

physique to a greater propensity for diabetes, heart disease and

stroke. Researchers suspect that belly fat cells are the worst

because of their proximity to major organs. They ooze noxious

chemicals, stoking inflammation, constricting blood vessels and

triggering other processes that may also damage brain cells.

" There is a lot of work out there that suggests that the fat wrapped

around your inner organs is much more metabolically active than other

types of fat right under the skin, " Whitmer said. " It's pumping out

toxic substances. It's very potent toxic fat. "

Whitmer and her colleagues analyzed data from 6,583 members of Kaiser

Permanente of Northern California who had had their belly fat

carefully calculated as part of a broad health study between 1964 and

1973. The researchers examined whether there was link between

abdominal obesity between the ages of 40 and 45 and the chances of

developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia by the time the

patients hit their 70s, between 1994 and 2006.

The risk for dementia, the researchers found, increased steadily with

the amount of fat in the abdomen, even after accounting for

alternative explanations, such as other diseases, bad habits and

lower education. They found no such association for fat in the thigh.

The researchers used a complicated method for measuring fat known as

sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD). Those with a SAD score above 25 --

roughly equivalent to a waist of at least 39 inches -- had the

biggest bellies and the greatest risk.

Previous studies have shown that people who are overweight are at

increased risk for dementia. But when the researchers examined

patients' body mass index (BMI), which is the most common way to

determine whether someone is overweight or obese, they found that

people with big bellies were still nearly twice as likely to develop

dementia, even if they had BMIs that were considered healthy. In

fact, their risk was about the same as for those who were overweight

or obese.

" What that tells you is the effect of the belly is over and above of

being overweight, " Whitmer said. " One of the take-home messages is

it's not just your weight, but where you carry your weight in middle

age, that is a strong predictor of dementia. "

Stomach fat may increase the risk for dementia in the same ways it

promotes heart disease -- by boosting blood pressure and constricting

blood flow, said A. Luchsinger of Columbia University. He and

others said it may also promote the accumulation of amyloid, a

substance found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

" We think the buildup and clumping of this material is an important

risk factor, " said Sam Gandy of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine,

who chairs the Alzheimer's Association's medical and scientific

advisory council. Previous research has found that people who are

obese have higher levels of amyloid in their blood, he said.

Some experts remained skeptical, saying this kind of study cannot

rule out the possibility that whatever is making people gain weight

in their bellies in their 40s also puts them at risk for dementia in

their 70s.

" There could be a connection. I'm not saying there couldn't be, " said

Barbara Corkery, director of Boston University's Obesity Research

Center. " But it could be those two things are caused by the same root

cause. "

While acknowledging that more research is needed, Whitmer said the

findings provide one more reason to try to maintain a healthy weight,

noting that this type of fat is the most easily shed by dieting and

exercise.

" It's not as stubborn as the fat under the skin, " she said. " It's a

modifiable risk factor. "