Big Belly May Expand Risk of Dementia

Having a big belly in middle age could increase your risk of dementia in old age, a study suggests. More than 6,500 men and women in their 40s were measured front to back using calipers. A distance of more than 10 inches was considered high. About 35 years later, nearly 1 in 6 people had developed Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. People who had big bellies in their 40s were nearly twice as likely to have dementia. This was true even for people who had normal body weight but extra fat in the belly. Overweight people were even more likely to have dementia if their weight was concentrated in the belly. The Associated Press wrote about the study March 27. It was in the journal Neurology.