A new study presented at the Radiological Society of North America annual meeting explored the link between obesity and the development of Alzheimer’s.
The researchers determined that higher levels of visceral fat, or the fat that accumulates around your mid-section, were linked with higher levels of two of the key proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease – amyloid and tau.
“This crucial result was discovered because we investigated Alzheimer’s disease pathology as early as midlife — in 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 lead study author Mahsa Dolatshahi, M.D., M.P.H.
A look at the study
The researchers had 80 middle-aged adults, over 57% of who were obese, with no history of cognitive issues involved in the study. The participants underwent a number of tests to understand the link between obesity and Alzheimer’s – PET scans, full-body MRIs, metabolic assessments, and cholesterol tests.
Ultimately, participants that had the highest levels of belly fat also had the highest traces of amyloid and tau proteins in the brains – two of the markers most closely associated with the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Similarly, participants with higher insulin resistance and lower HDL, or “good cholesterol,” also had higher traces of amyloid in their brain scans.
These findings are important for several reasons. For starters, the average age of the participants involved in this study was under 50 years old – years before symptoms related to Alzheimer’s begin to show.
Additionally, these findings highlight the specific areas consumers should target when thinking about both improving metabolic health and lowering their risk of cognitive decline in later years.
“This study goes beyond using BMI to characterize body fat more accurately with MRI and, in so doing, reveals key insights about why obesity can increase risk for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Dolatshahi.