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Body Composition and Dementia

It’s been a rough couple of weeks now. These articles have pointed out the links between unhealthy body composition, specifically central obesity (visceral/belly fat), and diseases like hypertension (high blood pressure) and Type 2 Diabetes. I’m about to point out something even scarier.

A 2008 study (http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000306313.89165.ef) shows that 50% of North American adults have central obesity. California residents numbering in the thousands participated in a 30 year study and those who had the highest central obesity exhibited that they were three times more likely to develop dementia, independent of diabetes or cardiovascular disease morbidities. The conclusion of this study is that the mechanisms linking central obesity and dementia need to be unveiled.

Identifying these mechanisms can help lead to a treatment, likely a prescription medication, which would reduce the risk of disease. But what if you could do something yourself right now to mitigate health risk?

Here’s a metaphor to help clarify: Hitting your thumb with a hammer causes pain. If you stop hitting your thumb with a hammer, you’ll stop experiencing pain from it. It doesn’t matter whether the mechanism linking the hammering with the pain is unveiled or not.

Simply put, if you do not have central obesity, you won’t have to worry about the health risks associated with it (hypertension, diabetes, dementia), regardless of whether or not the pathways and mechanisms have an explanation.

After all this scary commentary it’s a relief to know that there is something you can do to reduce your risks of diseases associated with central obesity (visceral or “belly” fat). The simplest, healthiest, least expensive and most enjoyable way to get rid of the gut is through lifestyle modification.

Talk to the Live Well Team at Pharmasave Summerland about how you can improve your body composition and long term health with the food you eat.

Dan Cassidy, Nutritional Product Advisor