Too much belly fat heightens dementia risk, Monash University researchers find

New research has warned that men carrying too much weight in this area are at higher risk of dementia. But a few extra “lean” kilos later in life may be associated with better cognition.

Men who carry too much weight around the belly are at greater risk of developing dementia, a large Australian study warns.

But there is some good news from the Monash University researchers.

The team also found carrying a few extra “lean” kilos later in life may be associated with better cognition.

The team studied more than 17,000 adults as part of the long-running ASPREE study and found abdominal fat, particularly in men, increased their risk of the devastating disease that affects memory, thinking, and daily activities.

Monash University Professor Joanne Ryan heads the Biological Neuropsychiatry and Dementia research unit of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. Image: Supplied.

“(But) there are two aspects to the results,” lead author Joanne Ryan said.

“The aspects around abdominal obesity are really important, and the fact that it’s males in particular that seem to be most affected.”

The other message, she said, was that carrying a little bit of excess body weight in later life may not be so bad.

“We think it can reflect good nutrition and excess reserves that people can have in older age,” Professor Ryan said.

“And there’s things like frailty that are associated with loss of weight and being a bit too thin in older age, so we think just having some of those excess reserves can be beneficial.”

Professor Ryan said men were more at risk because they typically had poor vascular health in general.

“They have an increased risk of cardiovascular heart problems overall and men do tend to accumulate fat around that abdominal region,” she said.

“It could reflect a tendency for men who might drink too much and maybe have more sedentary lifestyles.”

The study, published in the Journal of the American Alzheimer’s Association, found that dementia risk was lowered by between 15 to 38 per cent in people with higher lean and fat body mass.

The researchers say key is avoiding excess fat accumulation in the abdominal area, particularly for men. Picture: iStock

“It’s not necessarily a message we hear about a lot, but if you look at the research, there’s quite a lot that supports it,” Professor Ryan said.

“I know we shouldn’t be encouraging people to be overweight, but in the same instance in older age, we shouldn’t be saying to people that they need to be losing weight because a little bit of excess body fat is not detrimental, from what we’ve seen.”

Key, she said, was where the extra couple of kilos were stored.

Excess body weight, especially in midlife, is considered a risk factor for numerous health conditions, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which in turn are risk factors for dementia and cancer.

“These findings suggest that avoiding excess fat accumulation in the abdominal area and maintaining a balance between lean and fat mass may be beneficial to cognitive function in older age,” Professor Ryan said.

“Lifestyle strategies, such as a healthy diet and regular exercise, likely play a role in protecting brain health for older individuals.”

The research suggests that lifestyle strategies, such as a healthy diet and regular exercise, likely play a role in protecting brain health for older individuals.

ASPREE is a long-running study of older adults in Australia and the US.

It set out to determine whether daily low-doses of aspirin in healthy older adults would prevent or delay age-related illnesses.

The valuable data collected in thousands of adults aged 70 and over is now also used for many studies looking into aspects of health and ageing.

The Monash University team hope to use the data to look at biomarkers in future studies that may help predict risk.

“Not just looking at a person’s waist circumference, but also whether we can actually measure other things in bloods which would give us a good indication of those who are at risk of developing dementia,” Professor Ryan said.

Originally published as Too much belly fat heightens dementia risk, Monash University researchers find