Abdominal obesity raises dementia risk years later

• Neurology • • Obesity • Oct 09, 2008 Having an “apple-shaped,” rather than a “pear-shaped” body at middle-age appears to increase the later-life risk of dementia, California researchers report. Moreover, the link between abdominal obesity and increased dementia risk appears to be independent of overall body weight and the presence of diabetes or cardiovascular disease, report Dr. Rachel A. Whitmer, from Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, in Oakland, and colleagues. These findings, published in the medical journal Neurology, add to increasing evidence of the dangers of abdominal obesity. Previous research implicated large abdominal girth, as a risk... [read full story]