Overweight and obesity at middle age can cause more health problems than metabolic syndrome, the array of conditions like atherosclerosis, heart diseases, diabetes and high cholesterol, which in many cases lead to death. A new research published in the journal "Neurology" has connected the fact of having a large belly in midlife with a tripled risk of developing dementia.

"Considering that 50% of adults in this country have abdominal obesity, this is a disturbing finding," said author Rachel Whitmer of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, California.

This is the first research connecting overweight and obesity to dementia and, what's more interesting, showing that extra abdominal fat, even amongst those with normal Body Mass Index (BMI), boosts this condition.

The research team had determined the abdominal fat of 6,583 people aged 40 to 45, in northern California. 36 years later, it was seen that 16% had developed dementia. Individuals who were overweight or obese but did not store excessive fat amounts in the belly area presented an 80% higher risk of dementia, compared to those with a normal BMI and abdominal fat amount. But the likelihood to develop dementia boosted by 230% among overweight people with a large belly and by 360% among the obese with pot bellies.

"Where one carries the weight - especially in midlife - appears to be an important predictor for dementia risk," said Whitmer.
The precise cause of this connection was not found, but the researchers point that perhaps abdominal obesity betrays an array of health behaviors that expose the individual to dementia.

"Autopsies have shown that changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease may start in young to middle adulthood, and another study showed that high abdominal fat in elderly adults was tied to greater brain atrophy. These findings imply that the dangerous effects of abdominal obesity on the brain may start long before the signs of dementia appear," said Whitmer.