Maintaining a healthy body weight within a certain range has numerous health benefits and can raise a person’s level of self-esteem and potentially increase their overall quality of life. Conversely, excessive weight gain can lead to a myriad of health problems, and belly fat in particular has been linked to certain chronic conditions, including heart disease.

Now researchers have found a link between belly fat and dementia. In fact, an excess of belly fat in otherwise healthy middle-aged people appears to increase the risk for neural problems later in life. The findings, published in the Annals of Neurology, suggest that in certain instances dementia might be avoidable through intervention strategies.

In the study in question, researchers enrolled subjects from an ongoing heart study that included over 730 participants with a mean age of 60 years, roughly 70% of whom were women. Several variables were examined in order to determine any associations or relationships, including body mass index (BMI), waist measurement, waist to hip ratio, abdominal fat, as well as several measurements of their brain functions.

What they found was that increasing BMIs were associated with lower brain volumes in older and middle-aged adults. The findings confirm previous results, but the current study had a much larger sample size (700 vs. 300) and specifically made the connection between abdominal obesity and the risk of dementia.

While it may be too early to make any firm conclusions, the research does increase our understanding of a potential underlying cause of neural decline with age. Along these lines, if a strong connection is in fact confirmed, it would open up new avenues to treat and prevent dementia and possibly Alzheimer’s disease in older people.

Dementia is not a specific disease but rather describes a group of symptoms that stem from problems with the brain. Two common causes of dementia are Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. Dementia can reach a point whereby the sufferer can no longer perform routine everyday activities, including getting dressed and eating. The condition can affect their emotional state as well as their personalities, and can drastically influence how they interact with other people.

Loss of memory is a common symptom, though becoming forgetful is not a sign of dementia in and of itself. More often it entails two or more brain functions, including language and problem solving. Treatment includes medication and therapy, which cannot repair the brain or for that matter, cure dementia, but can reduce the severity of the symptoms and slow the progression of the disease.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are an estimated 24.3 million people who suffer from some form of dementia, with 4.6 million cases being diagnosed each year.

If you suspect that someone you know is showing signs of dementia, speak with your doctor. For more information, visit the website for the National Library of Medicine.