People with a lot of visceral fat may be more prone to dementia
2021.12.01
It is well known that high levels of visceral fat are more likely to cause diseases such as hyperglycemia, diabetes, high blood pressure, and arteriosclerosis. The reason why the “abdominal circumference” is considered in the health examination is that the size of the abdominal circumference is thought to reflect the amount of visceral fat.
By the way, this visceral fat seems to be related to the susceptibility to dementia.
“Visceral fat” that increases the risk of illness
Visceral fat is the fat that sticks around the internal organs, especially in the abdomen.
If you have two or more of hypertension, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia in addition to the accumulation of visceral fat, you will be diagnosed with “metabolic syndrome (so-called metabo)”. Metabolic syndrome is a condition in which arteriosclerosis easily progresses, so if left untreated, it will attract more serious illnesses such as heart disease and stroke.
Comparison between the group with high visceral fat and the group with low visceral
fat
The research group of Kao Co., Ltd. Health & Wellness Research Institute and Professor Shigeyuki Nakaji of Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine analyzed the medical examination data, and as a result, it was found that cognitive function is significantly affected for people aged 65 and over with a lot of visceral fat. It was revealed that it also caused structural abnormalities in the brain.
The subjects of the study were 2,364 people aged 65 to 80 who participated in the “Hirosaki
City Ikiiki Medical Examination” conducted from 2016 to 2017, excluding those diagnosed
with dementia.
By the way, Hirosaki City Ikiiki Medical Examination is a part of a “Large-scale dementia cohort study aiming at the realization of a healthy and long-lived society”, and is jointly conducted by Hirosaki City and Hirosaki University for Hirosaki citizens aged 65 and over.
In the study, 2,364 people to be analyzed were divided into a “group with a lot of visceral fat (1,143 people)” and a group with a “low visceral fat (1,221 people)”, and the cognitive function and the structure of the brain by MRI were investigated.
Relationship between visceral fat, cognitive function, and brain
As a result, we found the following.
● The group with high visceral fat had a lower score on the screening test for dementia than the group with low visceral fat, and it was found that cognitive function was significantly reduced.
● Compared to the group with a large amount of visceral fat, white matter lesions (changes caused by poor blood flow) and perivascular cavity enlargement (a gap is created between the blood vessels and the brain, and blood components and cerebrospinal fluid accumulate).
It turned out that the onset of the disease was significant.
If you reduce visceral fat, you will be less likely to develop dementia.
Based on these results, the study points out that reducing visceral fat may not only reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure, but also reduce the risk of dementia.
High levels of visceral fat are associated not only with lifestyle-related diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, and stroke, but also with the susceptibility to dementia.
The amount of visceral fat is generally measured by the abdominal circumference, but just because the abdominal circumference is small (thin) does not necessarily mean that the visceral fat is low. Even if you look thin, you may have less muscle mass and actually have
fat. A CT scan is required to accurately check the condition of visceral fat, but first of all, why not measure your body fat percentage and visceral fat level with a body composition analyzer?
◎ Reference
Kao “Discovered that visceral fat and cognitive function are related in people over 65 years old”