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According to researchers at Rutgers Health, the effects of belly fat on brain health and cognition are often greater in middle-aged men at higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease than in women.
In middle-aged individuals with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease, the amount of fat in their abdominal organs (pancreas, liver and abdominal fat) is related to their brain volume and cognitive function, according to the study published in the journal Obesity. This study was conducted by Ph.D. Sapir was written by Golan Shechtman. students from the Joseph Sagol Neuroscience Center at Sheba Medical Center in Israel and led by Michael Schneider Berry, director of the Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center at the Rutgers Brain Health Institute.
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The research, conducted in 204 healthy middle-aged Alzheimer’s-dementia offspring, examined fat depots in the pancreas, liver and abdomen as measured by MRI.
“In middle-aged men at high risk of Alzheimer’s disease – but not women – higher pancreatic fat was associated with lower cognition and brain volume, suggesting a possible gender-specific relationship between abdominal fat and brain health.” “
Obesity is a risk factor for lower cognitive functioning and higher dementia risk, with different associations between the sexes.
The findings highlight the importance of examining the interrelationships of fat depots, brain aging and cognition in the context of gender differences.
Additionally, the study challenges the traditional use of body mass index (BMI) as the primary measure for assessing cognitive risks related to obesity. The researchers said BMI poorly represents body fat distribution and cannot necessarily account for gender differences.
Shechtman said, “Our findings indicate stronger correlations than the relationship between BMI and cognition, suggesting that abdominal fat depot, rather than BMI, is a risk factor for lower cognitive functioning and higher dementia risk. “
Shechtman said these research findings open new avenues for targeted interventions and the exploration of gender-specific approaches in understanding and reducing the impact of abdominal fat on brain health.
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