TORONTO—Carrying a spare tire on the abdomen is known to significantly boost the risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but new research suggests excess belly fat in middle-age also may contribute to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia later in life.
In fact, a long-term study of more than 6,000 people found that those with the highest amount of abdominal fat in their 40s were significantly more likely to develop dementia than those with the lowest amount of fat around their mid-sections.