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It was found that higher visceral fat measurements are related to an increased burden of inflammation in the brain. (Photo: Freepik)
The dangers of belly fat are many. Having a big belly may potentially harm the heart, along with other organs, thereby affecting the overall health of a person. Now, a recent research has revealed just how dangerous belly fat is for the health of the brain. According to the research, inflammation from belly fat may be linked to early stages of Alzheimer's disease decades before actual symptoms begin to show.
Alzheimer's disease researcher Dr Richard Isaacson, a preventive neurologist at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases of Florida was quoted as saying, as mentioned in a CNN report, "We've known for a while that as the belly size gets larger, the memory centers in the brain get smaller. This study shows a brain imaging marker of neuroinflammation, which I had not seen before. The brain imaging links the belly fat, or visceral fat, to the brain dysfunction through an inflammatory cascade."
The findings of the study were shared by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). It was found by the researchers that visceral fat, hidden within the abdominal cavity and surrounding internal organs, "is related to changes in the brain up to 15 years before the earliest memory loss symptoms of Alzheimer's disease occur".
The RSNA's press release for the study stated that researchers "assessed the association between brain MRI volumes, as well as amyloid and tau uptake on positron emission tomography (PET) scans, with body mass index (BMI), obesity, insulin resistance and abdominal adipose (fatty) tissue in a cognitively normal midlife population". Amyloid and tau are understood to be proteins that interfere with the communication between brain cells.
Data from 54 cognitively healthy participants, ranging in age from 40 to 60 years old, with an average BMI of 32, was analysed. During the study, participants underwent glucose and insulin measurements, and glucose tolerance tests. The volume of subcutaneous fat (fat under the skin) and visceral fat were measured using abdominal MRI. Brain MRI measures the cortical thickness of brain regions that are affected in Alzheimer's disease. PET was used to examine disease pathology in a subset of 32 participants, with a focus on amyloid plaques and tau tangles that accumulate in Alzheimer's disease, the release stated.
It was found that higher visceral fat measurements are related to an increased burden of inflammation in the brain. Study author Mahsa Dolatshahi, post-doctoral research fellow with Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis said, as mentioned in the release: "Even though there have been other studies linking BMI with brain atrophy or even a higher dementia risk, no prior study has linked a specific type of fat to the actual Alzheimer's disease protein in cognitively normal people."
She added that inflammatory secretions of "visceral fat", as opposed to "potentially protective effects of subcutaneous fat", may lead to inflammation in the brain, one of the main mechanisms contributing to Alzheimer's disease.
Senior author Cyrus A. Raji, associate professor of radiology and neurology, and director of neuromagnetic resonance imaging at MIR added, "This study highlights a key mechanism by which hidden fat can increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease. It shows such brain changes occur as early as age 50, on average -- up to 15 years before the earliest memory loss symptoms of Alzheimer's occur."