Scientists have discovered that hidden belly fat is linked to changes in the brain up to 15 years before the first symptoms of the disease appear.
Dementia is the fastest growing cause of death in the Netherlands. An estimated 290,000 people in the Netherlands currently suffer from this debilitating disease. And that’s not all. The number will skyrocket in the future to more than half a million by 2040. And by 2050, the number of people with dementia is expected to rise to around 620,000. Scientists are still investigating the causes of this rapid increase. And it seems like this can be at least partly explained by hidden belly fat.
Overweight
Thanks to numerous studies, we now have a reasonable picture of the factors that increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. And many of these factors have to do with lifestyle. “Previous studies have shown that overweight people in middle age have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease,” says researcher Mahsa Dolatshahi in conversation with Scientias.nl. “However, it has not yet been studied which type of fat exactly is the culprit.”
Study
And so Dolatshahi and her team put it to the test. For this study, they examined data from 54 participants without cognitive problems, aged 40 to 60, with an average BMI of 32. These participants underwent measurements of glucose and insulin, as well as glucose tolerance tests. Using abdominal MRI, the amount of fat under the skin (subcutaneous fat) and hidden abdominal fat (visceral fat) was measured. In a smaller group of 32 participants, they also used scans to look at the disease itself, and in particular at the accumulation of the well-known amyloid plaques and tau, which are characteristic of Alzheimer’s.
Hidden belly fat
The research leads to a striking discovery. For example, it appears that more hidden belly fat in middle age increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. This relationship was stronger in men than in women. They also saw that more belly fat was associated with more inflammation in the brain.
This image shows that a higher amount of hidden fat in the group of 54 participants with an average age of 50 years is associated with more inflammation in the brain (yellow colors) in the white brain tissue. The green colors show normal white brain tissue. Image: RSNA/Mahsa Dolatshahi, MD, MPH
More about hidden belly fat
Hidden belly fat or, with a more difficult word, visceral adipose tissue, is fat that is not stored directly under the skin but deeper around internal organs. It is located around the liver, pancreas and intestines. Unlike the visible fat under the skin (subcutaneous fat), visceral fat is not immediately visible. Meanwhile, we already know that the accumulation of hidden belly fat is quite worrying. For example, it is associated with several health risks and is likely to play a role in a variety of health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease and, as it turns out, the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
The study shows how poorly hidden belly fat is. Although the discovered connection is not necessarily surprising. “It is quite understandable that fat hiding in the abdominal cavity may be associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” notes Dolatshahi. “This is because it is also associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease and inflammation. Unlike the fat under the skin that may protect against inflammation, hidden belly fat does not have this beneficial property.”
Statement
No definitive explanation has yet been found for the exact mechanisms by which hidden belly fat accelerates the development of Alzheimer’s. Although Dolatshahi does have an idea. “The assumption is that hidden belly fat causes inflammation in the rest of the body,” she says. “This, in combination with increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier due to inflammation, can lead to inflammation in the brain. We tested this hypothesis using imaging techniques and our initial results suggest that people with high levels of visceral fat do indeed have more inflammation in their brains. There are also other ways in which visceral fat may be linked to Alzheimer’s disease, such as the secretion of certain substances by the adipose tissue (including leptin and adipokines) and an increase in insulin resistance.”
Middle-age
The research is especially relevant for middle-aged people. Because the accumulation of hidden belly fat mainly occurs from the moment you celebrate your fiftieth birthday. “As people age, there is a redistribution of fat, with fat around the organs increasing and fat under the skin decreasing,” Dolatshahi explains. “One of the reasons for this is changes in sex hormones, especially in women after menopause. In addition, the number of adipose B cells, a certain type of immune cell, increases with age, leading to increased inflammation and reduced lipid metabolism.”
Goal
In short, the study conclusively shows that there is a link between a certain type of fat and the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Hidden belly fat leads to specific changes in the brain up to 15 years before the first symptoms of the disease become visible. And these are important new insights. For example, the results suggest that reducing hidden belly fat may be an important target for reducing the risk of future brain inflammation and dementia. “Adjustments such as weight loss are most effective in the early stages of the disease,” says Dolatshahi. “So if you start reducing hidden belly fat in time, it may be possible to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s.”
The findings are therefore important in our fight against the debilitating disease. They indicate that it is possible to delay or perhaps even prevent Alzheimer’s. “A healthy lifestyle with regular exercise and a healthy diet clearly makes a difference,” says Dolatshahi. At the same time, she hopes the study can also support people trying to lose weight. “As more and more medications that target obesity become available, our research can help guide treatment and preventive measures,” Dolatshahi continued. “It is important that interventions aimed at tackling obesity and its impact on brain health focus specifically on reducing visceral fat. This can be achieved with medications such as Mounjaro, Ozempic or Wegovy. This can significantly reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.”
2023-11-24 07:30:44
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