Posted on 03/26/2008 3:49:17 PM PDT by blam
Beer bellies may double the risk of dementia
20:00 26 March 2008
NewScientist.com news service
Jim Giles
Bad news for those with bulging bellies: fat that builds up around the waist during middle age may cause dementia decades later, say researchers who examined the health records of thousands of senior citizens.
Scientists already know that overweight adults risk developing diabetes, heart problems and other medical conditions. But over the last few years researchers have noticed that obesity in middle age is linked with cognitive problems in the aged.
Now it seems that overall body mass is not so important – it's the fat around the belly that appears to cause the problems.
Epidemiologist Rachel Whitmer and colleagues looked at the medical records of 6583 adults registered with the healthcare firm she works for – Kaiser Permanente of Oakland, California.
During the 1960s and 1970s, records were taken of the diameters of the adults' bellies, which gave Whitmer a rough idea of how much fat they were carrying around the waist.
Metabolically active
When she compared the measurements with the subjects' current medical records, the results were startling. Incidence of dementia increased steadily with the amount of belly fat, such that the 20% with the most belly fat were over two and half times more likely to develop dementia that those carrying the least.
Levels of total fat also seemed to increase dementia risk, but not by the same magnitude.
"This is an important paper," says Sudha Seshadri, a neurologist at Boston University who has also found evidence linking belly fat to cognitive problems. "I believe the effect is real."
The link may seem odd, but Whitmer notes that the fat around the belly is the most metabolically active of all fat types.
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
That, or stupid people let themselves get fat.
I don’t suppose all the beer that made the beer bellies has anything to do with it.
Looks like quintuplets to me
I just have problems finding my keys not my beer.
Are they sure its the beer bellies or whatever they put in the water in Oakland, where they got all the medical records to “study”. This is just more slow brainwashing for a huge power grab on fat, beer, and sugar by the govt. and money hungry lawyers imo.
Time to get my beer.
Hey,,,,I resemble that remark
It must be triplets.
well, fat people are really annoying, but I can’t say they’re responsible for dementia.
I’m not fat.
I’m big boned.
Well isn’t that just great! I have a big belly and I LOVE beer! Well just shoot me. LOL
My husband is skinny as a beanpole and he has type 2 diabetes. He is skinny as a rail. Has NO belly.
“Scientists already know that overweight adults risk developing diabetes, heart problems and other medical conditions. But over the last few years researchers have noticed that obesity in middle age is linked with cognitive problems in the aged.”
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