Alzheimer’s, which affects almost one million people in the UK, primarily impacts the brain, leading to a gradual and total loss of memory, thinking and reasoning abilities. Symptoms don’t usually start until a person’s mid-60s or later, but a recent study indicates that ‘middle-aged’ spread or sporting a beer belly could increase the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s 20 years before those symptoms emerge

Researchers found that individuals with more visceral fat, which accumulates around vital organs such as the heart, stomach and liver, had higher levels of abnormal proteins in their brains, a key indicator of the disease

Visceral fat differs from other types of fat as it is often hidden, wrapping around organs rather than making the person appear larger. It can even have little effect on a person’s body mass index (BMI), meaning even those with a healthy BMI could be at risk

At the annual conference of the Radiological Society of North America, researchers presented a groundbreaking study that could change our understanding of dementia risks. They examined health data from 80 individuals in their 40s and 50s, all with normal cognitive functions and no evident signs of dementia

The group included over half who were categorised as obese and went through body scans to trace visceral fat as well as brain scans looking for amyloid proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Findings indicated a direct association between high levels of visceral fat and increased presence of amyloid proteins

While obesity has been previously noted as a risk factor for dementia, this study specifically pointed out that visceral fat accounts for a staggering 77 per cent of the amyloid buildup associated with obesity in the brain

“This crucial result was discovered because we investigated Alzheimer’s disease pathology as early as midlife – the 40s and 50s – when the disease pathology is at its earliest stages, and potential modifications like weight loss and reducing visceral fat are more effective as a means of preventing or delaying the onset of the disease,” said Dr. Mahsa Dolatshani, a post-doctoral research associate at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and lead author of the study

“Our study showed that higher visceral fat was associated with higher PET levels of the two hallmark pathologic proteins of Alzheimer’s disease – amyloid and tau,” Dolatshani said. “To our knowledge, our study is the only one to demonstrate these findings at midlife where our participants are decades out from developing the earliest symptoms of dementia that results from Alzheimer’s disease”

The researchers said that lifestyle modifications targeted at reducing visceral fat could influence the development of Alzheimer’s disease

In a follow-up article, NMTBP will look at ways you can reduce visceral fat